HYDERABAD/SANG­HAR: Two Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) old guards, Moham­mad Ali Shah Jamote and Jam Madad Ali — who have their proven vote bank in Matiari and Sanghar, respectively — formally joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday at separate ceremonies.

MNA Faryal Talpur, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and senior PPP leaders, including ministers and lawmakers, attended both the ceremonies to welcome them to the party fold.

PPP sources said that the ceremonies were originally scheduled for Dec 21 and 22, respectively, but keeping in view the Dec 23 homecoming of the party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari from Dubai, the programmes were held a little earlier.

At the ceremony held at the residence of Jamote family in the Shah Alam Ji Wasi area of Matiari the clan chieftain, Mohammad Ali Shah Jamote, announced an end to his clan’s decades-long loyalty to the PML-F, which is headed by Pir Pagara, the spiritual leader of the Hur Jamaat.

Making a brief speech to make his decision public, Jamote said that he decided to join the PPP after consulting his friends and supporters and keeping in view the policies pursued by the able leadership of the party. “I will now live and die with the PPP”, he declared, and observed that “there used to be two political forces in Matiari in the past which have today united on the single PPP platform”.

Welcoming the Jamote chieftain to the party fold, MNA Talpur said she appreciated his decision and expressed her confidence that he would keep his doors open to the people of Sindh. She promised full cooperation to him from the PPP leadership in resolving the issues faced by the common man.

She also paid homage to the late PPP-Parliamenta­rians president Makhdoom Amin Fahim saying that he never compromised on principles and remained loyal to the PPP till his last breath. “Such people are born in centuries,” she said, adding that his death had left a vacuum in the PPP which could not be filled easily.

The late leader’s son and spiritual leader of Sarwari Jamaat, Makhdoom Jamiluz­z­aman, who is also the provincial revenue minister, appreciated Jamote’s joining the PPP. “His joining has made Matiari the fort of PPP,” he observed, and vow­ed to work for the progress of the district together with Moha­m­mad Ali Shah Jamote.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, welcoming Mr Jamote to the PPP, said that he shared family relations with the Jamote family.

“The Jamote family has remained associated with the other party since 1970 but the policies, sacrifices and political acumen of the PPP leadership impressed them to the extent that they decided to join the PPP along with supporters and friends,” Mr Shah said. Sindh PPP president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that when PPP was founded in 1967, there were only around 300 people with the founder chairman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. “Now a sea of people are with the PPP,” he observed.

He said even PPP’s opponents supported it in the movement for the restoration of democracy against dictators. With Jamotes joining the PPP, the party has now no political opponent in Matiari district, he said.

Senator Aajiz Dhamrah, provincial minister Imdad Pitafi, MNA Shagufta Jum­ani, Matiari district council chairman Makhdoom Fak­har Zaman, Adviser to the CM on Infor­mation, Maula Bux Chandio and special ass­i­s­tant Qasim Naveed Qamar were among the others who were present at the ceremony.

All the PPP leaders then proceeded to Sanghar where Agriculture Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal, MNAs Shazia Marri and Roshan Junejo and several other senior party colleagues were already present for another ceremony organised in Jam Nawaz Ali village to welcome PML-F leader Jam Madad Ali to the party fold.

A large number of PML-F and PPP workers and supporters accorded a traditional welcome to the guests, led by MNA Faryal Talpur.

Amid jubilations, Jam Madad Ali made a formal announcement about his joining the PPP and an end to his association with the PML-F since the early ’90s.

Speaking to the audience, Jam Madad Ali said he was convinced that the PPP was sincere with the people of Sindh and its policies were aimed at ensuring prosperity of common man and development of all parts of the province. He said he had decided to work as an ordinary worker of the PPP to serve the masses.

MNA Faryal Talpur and Murad Ali Shah also spoke.

Ms Talpur warmly welcomed Jam Madad Ali to the party fold and assured him of full cooperation in bringing prosperity to his constituency and the district.

The CM noted that little development had taken place in Sanghar district since 1970. They party that had been claiming that Sang­har was its fiefdom, could not even build roads in the district, he said, and added that it used to force PPP supporters not to vote for it [PPP]. He held out the assurance that all major roads in the district would be built before the next general elections.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2016