Late Pir Pagara’s second son to head PML-F Sindh

KARACHI: At its fist party meeting in Karachi, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) Sindh Council elected its president and the party’s general secretary.

Pir Syed Sadruddin Shah Rashdi, alias Younus  Saeen, was elected as the president for the second time while Imtiaz Shaikh was elected as the general secretary of the party’s Sindh chapter.

Sadruddin Shah is also a member of the Sindh Assembly while Shaikh is also the Adviser to the Chief Minister on Special Education and was the provincial chief organiser for PML-F.

While talking to the media, Sadruddin Shah said that he will travel to rural Sindh to make the provincial body of the party. He expressed concern over the discrepancies in the electoral rolls and demanded that the government expedite the correction process and ensure its transparency.

He thanked President Asif Ali Zardari for supporting PML-F’s candidate in the senate elections in Sindh.

Answering a question, Sadaruddin Shah said that his party will oppose the formation of a new province in Sindh, adding that the slogan “Divide Sindh” was merely a conspiracy to trigger ethnic violence in the province.

Talking about making an alliance with another political party for the upcoming general elections, he said, “It is top secret. We will not disclose who will be our future ally at the moment.”

The new president also expressed concern over the forced conversions of Hindu girls and declared that PML-F will always work for protecting minorities in Sindh.

Besides electing new leaders, the Sindh council of the party also expressed concern over rampant corruption in government departments and the worsening law-and-order situation. In one of the eight resolutions passed by the council, one demanded that President Asif Ali Zardari should intervene and issue directives to authorities concerned to pump out the stagnant floodwater from areas in lower Sindh. “Even after eight months the flood victims are still waiting for relief,” said the resolution. “There is a dire need to provide compensation to the people.”

Safe drinking water, inflation, load shedding and unemployment were also included among the issues on which the party adopted resolutions.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2012.