DADU/SUKKUR: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is hit by rifts in at least two districts, Dadu and Jacobabad, and an MPA and a district president have been forced to quit party offices by angry workers.

In Dadu district, a large number PPP activists, divided in two groups, staged demonstrations against each other on Saturday and held separate press conferences to make their grievances public.

Activists of the PPP youth wing severely criticised former senior minister for education Pir Mazharul Haq and his MPA son Pir Mujeebul Haq for not extending due assistance and cooperation to the local party cadre in resolving their issues.

Dadu youth wing president Mohammed Omer Panhwar, along with other office-bearers, accused them at a press conference of ‘selling out jobs’ and allotting plots of the ‘Benazir Basti’ to their relatives, favourites and even servants in Dadu and ignoring the deserving people.

He appealed to MNA Faryal Talpur to look into the matter.

The rival group led by PPP taluka president Saifullah Panhwar held a demonstration to express full support for Pir Mazhar and Pir Mujeeb.

At a separate press conference, they claimed that Omer Panhwar was booked in a murder case and had a criminal record. They rejected the allegations levelled by him against the two senior party leaders, and urged the high command to expel Omar Panhwar and his group from the party.

Meanwhile, there were reports of serious differences between PPP MPA from Khairpur Nathan Shah Parveen Junejo and her husband, Aziz Junejo, as the latter accused his wife of paying no attention to the issues of party workers and her constituents.

Mr Junejo told Dawn on Saturday that he had made complaints against her to the top party leadership, saying that she had never even visited her constituency ever since becoming the MPA.

He claimed that his wife had already been made to tender her resignation. He further claimed that her resignation had been sent to the Sindh Assembly speaker, who accepted it a few days back. “Now I will contest for the PS-76 seat, he said.

SUKKUR: PPP Jacobabad district chief Sardar Mohammed Panah Odho resigned from his post and the secretary of the chapter, Mir Liaquat Ali Lashari, was said to be following suit over increasing unrest among workers, it emerged on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Parveen Junejo has said that the resignation sent to the party leadership and the speaker was ‘fake’, adding that she had never tendered her resignation as the PMA.

She said PPP district president MNA Rafique Ahmed Jamali and her husband had been threatening her with dire consequences if she visited Dadu. She said she reserved the right to move court against them.

She appealed to party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to take notice of the death threats being hurled at her by them.

Responding to her allegations, MNA Rafique Ahmed Jamali appeared before the local media and said she was lying. He denied hurling any threat to Ms Junejo or any other person.

Sources close to Mr Bhutto-Zardari said the top leadership had taken notice of the matter and directed the Sindh chief minister to provide protection to Parveen Junejo, investigate the issue and submit a report to him.

Sources in Jacobabad PPP said that the two office-bearers had been under immense stress as well as pressure from the lower cadre because the PPP ministers, lawmakers and higher party officials had not been cooperating with them in resolving the issues of the district population.

Mir Lashari has already quit the post of Wapda SDO in Jacobabad, they added. However, Mir Lashari, when contacted, said he did not intend to resign at this stage. Another rally was taken out by party workers in Garhi Khero taluka in support of Sardar Odho.A large number of party activists including elite of Jacobabad visited Sardar Odho’s house in their attempt to dissuade him from stepping down.

Local PPP workers on Saturday took out rally in support of Sardar Odho and held a demonstration outside the press club to demand ‘justice’ with him.

Speaking to the participants, PPP city chief Mohammed Akbar Pirzada and other office-bearers including Abdul Rahim Wagan and Mohammed Rafiq Weesar said that Sardar Odho had rendered great sacrifices for the party and must be given due importance. They appealed to the party high command to stop him from quitting his office.

Addressing the participants, Garhi Khero PPP city president Aijaz Brohi and others appealed to him to withdraw his resignation.

Sardar Odho, speaking to the media, said he tendered his resignation to take rest.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2014