SUKKUR: Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with some of his cabinet members, is to arrive in Khangarh town of Ghotki district on Wednesday to offer his condolences to the bereaved family of former Sindh chief minister Sardar Ali Mohammed Mahar, it is learnt.

The Mahars of Ghotki, who wield considerable political influence, seemed visibly disappointed over the PM’s inability to visit them even for condolence particularly when a number of political figures and foreign dignitaries, including Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jam Kamal, spared time for the purpose.

The PPP chairman also made a political move during his visit a few days ago by reportedly offering party ticket for the National Assembly seat of deceased Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Ali Mohammed Mahar to one of his sons.

Now when the PM has scheduled his visit for Wednesday — almost one month after the death of Mr Mahar, who held the portfolio of federal minister for narcotics in the PTI government — the unrest is likely to subside.

The upcoming by-election for Mr Mahar’s NA-205 Ghotki seat may feature when the PM will meet his political ally MPA Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar, a key leader of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), sources said. The PM and his entourage would also discuss a strategy for the by-election with other GDA leaders, they added.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2019