New coalition: Malkanis join PPP, end alliance with Shirazis

Repose confidence in leadership of Owais Muzaffar, the winning PPP candidate from Thatta.

KARACHI:

The 20-year coalition between the Shirazi and the Malkani clans ended on Thursday after the latter announced its decision to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the presence of PPP leaders Qaim Ali Shah and Owais Muzaffar.

Chief of the Malkani clan Muhammad Ali Malkani, the newly elected member of Sindh Assembly from the provincial assembly seat, PS-87, announced to join the PPP during a press conference at his residence in Karachi.

President of PPP Sindh Qaim Ali Shah said that Malkani’s decision to join PPP will prove to be the downfall of the Shirazis’ in Thatta. Shah said that high-ups of the party were in contact with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for the formation of government in Sindh.

Muhammad Ali Malkani and Ghulam Qadir Malkani said that they were in coalition with the Shirazis for the last 20 years but it ended because of Shirazis’ alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The leaders said that negotiations with the Shirazis were not possible because people of Sindh have not given mandate to the PML-N. “People of Sindh have given mandate to the PPP. We are with the PPP and express complete satisfaction over Owais Muzaffar’s leadership,” said Muhammad Ali Malkani.



Muzaffar, newly elected member of Sindh assembly from PS-88, said that the process of vote counting was going on in several constituencies in Thatta after an application was moved to the election commission. “The process of recounting of votes is going at a very slow pace and we have reservations over it,” he added.

Answering a question, Muzaffar said that many other people will also join the PPP in coming days. He said that he was grateful to the people of Thatta who put their faith in the PPP and made him successful in the elections.

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