Old rivalries: Two former chief ministers to contest elections in Khairpur

They are both lawyers by profession as well as the presidents of Sindh chapter of their parties.

SUKKUR:

Two former chief ministers, Qaim Ali Shah of Pakistan Peoples Party and Ghous Ali Shah of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, have filed the nominations papers for PS-29, Khairpur, and will be contesting elections against one another.

The two veteran politicians who trace their lineage to the Syed family, are lawyers by profession and are also the presidents of the Sindh chapter of their parties.

Qaim Ali Shah was born in Khairpur on September 13, 1933 and received primary education from Naz High School, Khairpur. After completing a bachelor’s degree from Karachi University, he went on to acquire an LLB degree from SM Law College. He was appointed as a federal minister in 1971 during late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s tenure and was made the chief minister of Sindh in 1988 and in 2008.

Ghous Ali Shah was born in Garhi Mori, which is 15 kilometers away from Khairpur, on January 1, 1934. He started practicing law after completing his studies from S M Law College and went go on to become the president of District Bar Association, Khairpur, and later, a judge at the Sindh High Court. He made his foray into politics in 1981 and served as the minister of education, culture, sports and law, all of which worked as a single department at that point. He also served as Sindh’s chief minister from 1985 to 1988. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed him as his adviser in Sindh when he imposed governor rule in the province in 1999. Additionally, he served as the defence minister from 1991 to 1993 and as the federal education minister from 1997 to 1999. He left Pakistan in October 2001 during former president Pervez Musharraf’s tenure and stayed in self-imposed exile in London till 2008 when he returned to participate in the elections.

Qaim Ali Shah, who has been appointed as a provincial minister five times, defeated Ghous Ali Shah in 1970 when he became a member of National Assembly and later in 1988 and in 1993 when he became member of Provincial Assembly. Ghous Ali Shah defeated him once in 1997 when he was made the chief minister.

Ghous Ali Shah has four sons and two daughters and Qaim Ali Shah has four sons and eight daughters.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2013.