BADIN: Councillor Luqman Sheedi, a member of the Tando Bago town committee of Badin district, who had disappeared about a month ago, surfaced on Friday to announce his rejoining of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

The Sheedi community, a sub-caste of the Qambrani tribe, has been protesting in the town ever since his disappearance and accusing the PPP of having kidnapped him and forcing him to change his loyalty. Mr Sheedi had contested the local government election as an independent candidate and affiliated himself with the Mirza group, led by estranged PPP leader and former home minister Dr Zulfikar Ali Mirza.

Mr Sheedi, along with PPP leaders Atta Mohammed Jamali, Khan Sahib Jamali and others, appeared before local journalists and announced that he had rejoined the PPP.

He denied having been kidnapped or forced to part ways with the Mirza group. “My conscience does not allow me to quit the PPP but I feared for my life, which was under threat from the Mirza group,” he said, and demanded protection to his life and property.

Atta Mohammed Jamali and Khan Sahib Jamali, answering questions by journalists rejected the allegation of kidnapping and forcibly changing loyalty of the councillor, saying that the PPP believed in fair politics and never resorted to dirty politics.

The issue, coupled with the defection of another Mirza group councillor Mohammed Hanif Thebo to the PPP on Thursday, has further heightened political tension involving the two sides.

In his statement issued on Friday, Dr Mirza strongly criticised the PPP for allegedly forcing its opponents to change their loyalty. He claimed that the Sindh government was using police to harass his associates and supporters.

He said Mr Thebo, who was elected a district council member from the Haji Mohammed Ashraf Thebo union council of Ripp Sharif, would return to his group if allowed to take a decision without any pressure or threat.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2016