KARACHI / HYDER­ABAD: Muhammad Ismail Rahoo, former provincial president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, tendered his resignation as a member of the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday, a day before he is expected to join the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Mr Rahoo resigned as the PML-N’s provincial chief last month amid reports that he would join the PPP to rival Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, a friend-turned-foe of PPP leader Asif Zardari. After relieving him from the post of Sindh president, on Mr Rahoo’s request, the PML-N had bro­u­ght in a lesser known political figure, Babu Sarfaraz Jatoi, as his replacement.

In his letter to the speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Mr Rahoo cited ‘personal reasons’ for resigning from his seat from Badin’s Golarchi Taluka. The speaker is expected to accept Mr Rahoo’s resignation after the assembly resumes its session on Friday.

Mr Zardari is expected to visit him on Wednesday to announce his in­­duction into the PPP. The veteran politician’s defection to the PPP might appe­ar as a major blow to the PML-N’s position in Sindh. The son of pop­ular peasant leader Fazil Rahu, who was assassinated in 1987, wields considerable political clout because of his father’s legacy.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2017