HYDERABAD: An impressive reception of hosted for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA from Jamshoro Malik Asad Sikandar in Kotri late on Saturday evening amid his long-running dispute with Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro and CM’s Special Assistant Dr Sikandar Shoro. The event came days after Jam Shoro and Sikandar Shoro held gatherings in Thana Arib Khan, the Malik’s ancestral town.

The Saturday reception was hosted by Arbab Jaffar Shoro. Speaking to the guests, the MNA said he always lived with dignity and would defeat his opponents. He said that he had learnt the lesson of sacrifices from [slain PPP chairperson] Benazir Bhutto while being her associate.

Lately, Malik Asad seemed to have lost his influence in Jamshoro in the backdrop of a controversy involving Bahria Town. Currently, he is poised to neutralise inroads being made jointly by Jam Khan Shoro and Dr Sikandar Shoro in the area.

Malik Asad got a party ticket for his associate, Faqir Dad Khoso, in 2013. His brother is the chairman of Jamshoro district council. Gyan Chand was also given the party ticket for a reserved seat on Malik’s recommendation.

“I am the man of tribes. I can face my opponents if only my men do not betray me,” he said while speaking at the gathering in Jan Mohammad Shoro village. Draping the tri-colour PPP muffler around his neck, he said he was not a bargaining chip.

Referring to the partyless LG elections of 2005, when Faryal Talpur and Malik Asad Sikandar were elected district nazims and most other slots of district nazim in Sindh were won by Dr Arbab’s candidates, he said it was Jamshoro district that stood test of times even in that period.

He said that after Bhuttos, it was the army that had rendered great sacrifices for the country’s defence. Without naming his party colleague and CM’s aide Dr Sikandar Shoro, he said: “I have stood with people wholeheartedly and my supporters even took up arms for them at polling stations, but they proved to be disloyal.”

He said had Siddique Shoro [the maternal grandfather of Dr Sikandar Shoro] and Khuda Dino Shoro been alive today, these “children” would not have behaved like that. He observed that he was saddened to see that ‘youngsters’ had in fact discredited their elders through political gimmicks. “I am contesting elections since 1985 and if we could get anyone victory, then we can make anyone fall as well,” he said.

He said he was not afraid of anyone and only cared for his people that they should not betray him. “I am a humble man and can face anyone,” he said. He was delighted to attend this reception and expressed his gratitude to the Shoro community, declaring that “if need be, I will not hesitate to sacrifice [my life] for this community”.

Former provincial minister Gyan Chand Esrani said that the Shoro community had an only relation with Malik Asad and PPP and no one could break it. He said that people of Jamshoro had always supported Malik Asad, whose opponents faced sleeplessness because of these people’s affection with him.

MPA Faqir Dad Khoso said that these ‘Shoro ministers’ were not elders of this community. He said that Arbab Jaffar headed 14 branches of the Shoro community. He stated that he and others were followers of Bhuttos and under the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, they would keep serving people. Meanwhile, MPA Dr Sikandar Shoro organised a separate gathering of the Shoro community in his village, Khuda Dino Shoro. It was attended by 40 elders of the community who expressed their trust in their chieftain, Deedar Shoro, and Dr Sikandar Shoro. They didn’t attend Jaffar’s event and vowed to side with Dr Sikandar Shoro and PPP.

Only recently Dr Sikandar Shoro and Jam Khan Shoro organised a gathering in Thana Arib Khan, Malik Asad’s ancestral town where Saleh Birhamani announced joining PPP.

Later on, Birhamani also met Asif Ali Zardari. Such gathering in Malik’s stronghold is considered unusual. Then another gathering was held in Than Arib Khan which was attended by PPP Mirpurkhas division president Pir Aftab Shah Jillani, the brother of MNA from Mirpurkhas Pir Shafqat Shah Jillani.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2017