KARACHI: A twice-elected minority Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) member of Sindh Assembly joined the Pakistan People's Party on Thursday.

Poonjo Mal Bheel met with PPP's Member of National Assembly Faryal Talpur at Bilawal House in Karachi and informed about his decision to join the party.

Bheel also resigned from his provincial assembly seat upon joining the PPP.

The former MPA from Umerkot said he is joining the PPP as it is a major party that believes in equal rights for all minorities.

"I will now work with the PPP for the protection of minorities."

PPP Senator Hari Ram, MPA Sardar Ali Shah, Saleem Jalbani, Suhesh Kumar Malani, Qasim Siraj Soomro, and Advocate Zafar Leghari were also present.

Prior to his resignation, Bheel was a member of the Standing Committee on Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights, Public Accounts Committee, and the Standing Committee on Mines and Minerals, as well as chairperson of the Standing Committee for Minority Affairs.

Between 2000 and 2002, the former MPA was an elected Councillor on a reserved seat for minorities in the Mirpurkhas local government. He remained a member of the Sindh Assembly from 2002 to 2007.

The move comes barely a day after PPP member Sathi Ishaq joined the MQM. Although Ishaq was not a PPP lawmaker, he was a prominent lawyer working with the party.

"He [has] been a true and hardworking political worker and always stood solid for the truth and fought against the discrimination and suppression of rights of the people," MQM senior deputy convener Amir Khan had said while welcoming Ishaq to the party in Azizabad.