Former Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. PHOTO: EXPRESS
PPP parliamentary leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim while speaking to media outside Bilawal House confirmed that Syed Qaim Ali Shah had been nominated in a meeting presided by President Asif Ali Zardari and that the decision had been made in the best interest of Sindh and the party.
Shah, who has served as Sindh CM on two previous occasions, thanked the party for its decision.
The party also announced that Nisar Ahmed Khuhro would not be returning as the provincial assembly speaker. Instead, the former minister for local government, Agha Siraj Durrani will be entrusted with that mantle.
Senior PPP leader Shehla Raza will serve as the deputy speaker.
The elected members would take oath on May 29, (Wednesday). The incumbent speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro will administrator oath to them before election of the speaker and deputy speaker.
Senior PPP leaders had said Shah was the best man for the job given his past experience and the success of the PPP in Sindh during the May 11 elections.
Third time the charm
Shah, who belongs to district Khairpur, has been a PPP loyalist since the party’s inception and, apart from being elected as an MPA several times, has also been an MNA and a senator. He has also served as federal minister for industries and Kashmir Affairs in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s cabinet in the 1970s.
When the PPP swept Sindh in the 1988 elections, Shah became chief minister. He continued his job for three to four months until he was replaced by Aftab Shaban Mirani. He regained the position in 2008, and held it for five years.
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