PPP’s Jam Madad Ali succumbs to Covid-19

He had been elected as an MPA five times, with his first four tenures on a PML-F ticket

HYDERABAD:

Pakistan Peoples Party's MPA Jam Madad Ali, who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19, passed away at a private hospital in Karachi on Friday. He was 57 years old.

The politician, who hailed from Jam Nawaz Ali taluka of Sanghar district, will be laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard on Saturday.

Ali started his journey in electoral politics when he was elected as a union council chairman in the 1987 local government elections.

He remained a member of the Sindh Assembly from Sanghar district for five separate tenures starting from 1993, after replacing his late uncle and former Sindh Chief Minister Jam Sadiq Ali in the 1993 general elections.

For much of his political career, Ali remained affiliated with Pir Pagara's party, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F). However, he switched his loyalty to the PPP in 2017.

After resigning from the PML-F, he won a by-election on the same seat on the PPP's ticket, bringing the party a historic win in Jam Nawaz Ali taluka, formerly a PML-F stronghold. He was elected again as an MPA from the same constituency on the PPP's ticket in the 2018 general elections.

His previous four tenures in the Sindh assembly were from the PML-F.

Ali also served as a provincial minister and led the opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly after the 2008 general elections.

At the time of his passing, he was heading the Sindh Assembly's standing committee on transport and was a member of the standing committee on finance.

Trade activities in Jam Nawaz Ali taluka and some other parts of Sanghar were suspended in mourning after his death.

PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed deep sorrow over Ali’s death, terming it a “huge loss for the party and the people of his constituency.” In a statement posted on the party’s Twitter account, Bilawal said the late politician was an “active leader” who would always be remembered.

چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا رکنِ سندھ اسمبلی جام مدد علی کے انتقال پر گہرے دکھ و افسوس کا اظہار

جام مدد علی کی ناگہانی رحلت کے بارے میں جان کر نہایت افسردہ ہوں: بلاول بھٹو زرداری

مرحوم معتدل مزاج اور سرگرم رہنما تھے، ہمیشہ یاد رہیں گے: بلاول بھٹو زرداری @BBhuttoZardari

— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) November 13, 2020

Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah and Governor Imran Ismail also extended their condolences over Ali’s demise, with the former calling the deceased an “exemplary human being and good friend.”

President Arif Alvi also extended condolences on Ali’s demise in a tweet and prayed for his family.

I would like to condole the death of Jam Madad Ali. May his soul rest in peace and may Allah give strength to the family to bear this loss.
إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ

— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) November 13, 2020