Sindh appoints five more special assistants to CM Murad Ali Shah

Veerji Kolhi spent his early life as a bonded labourer and rose to become a famous human rights activist

KARACHI: The Sindh government appointed five more special assistants to chief minister on Monday, bringing the total number of special assistants to 11. Around 16 ministers and two advisors are already part of the provincial cabinet.  According to a notification issued by the services, administration and coordination department, Moula Bakhsh Mubejo, Pir Noorullah, Riaz Hussain Shah, Veerji Kolhi, a famous human rights activist who is also brother of PPP senator Krishna Kumari Kolhi, and Nasima Ghulam Hussain are the new additions.

However, Waqar Mehdi, Rashid Rabbani, Ashfaq Memon, Qasim Naveed and Dr Khatumal Jewan are already working as special assistants to chief minister without any portfolios.



Veerji, who is currently the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) union council chairperson from Nangarparkar tehsil, spent his early life as a bonded labourer along with his sister and later rose to become a human rights activist. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Tharparkar District and Sessions judge in February 2017 in a murder case over a land dispute between the Kolhi and Shoro families. Later, PPP chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, intervened and with the help of then PPP Minister Jam Khan Shoro settled the bloody dispute.

With the appointment of Veerji as the chief minister's special assistant, there are now two members of scheduled caste Hindus in the Sindh cabinet. PPP has already given the party's reserved ticket for MPA to Surendar Valasai, a Dalit from Thar, and elected Krishna as Senator.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2019.