LARKANA: Moazzam Ali Abbasi, an MPA of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) from Larkana, resigned as member of the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday.

In a letter addressed to the assembly speaker, Abbasi said that in the wake of recent calamity in Sindh, it became evident that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government had miserably failed to deliver.

He said that Sindh was reeling from sheer incompetence, mismanagement and corruption, which had seeped into every government department, particularly irrigation, revenue, health, agriculture etc.

“Amid these circumstances, I feel helpless as a representative of my constituency (PS-11, Larkana-II), since I cannot deliver to people,” he said in the letter.

“Therefore, I do hereby tender my resignation as a mark of protest. May Allah Almighty help our beautiful Sindh and its people,” he concluded.

He said he had sent the resignation to the speaker and the assembly had received it. It would as per process be forwarded to the election commission for de-notification, he said.

Talking to a YouTube channel, he said that being part of the Larkana Awami Ittehad (LAI), he had discussed his decision with the alliance leaders.

The people of Larkana had been grossly ignored, he said and claimed that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was not aware of ground realities in his constituency as according to him, his people did not feel it good to convey the real picture to him.

He thanked all those component parties of the LAI who had lent him support to defeat PPP’s candidate twice from Larkana.

He also hinted at the possibility of resignation by LAI affiliated chairmen of different union councils in Larkana. “Let us see what happens in by-election in the wake of acceptance of my resignation,” he said.

Maulana Nasir Mehmood Soomro, district emir of the Jamiat Ulema Islam Larkana, appreciated the spirit behind the resignation of GDA MPA Moazzam Ali Abbasi in a statement on Wednesday.

It was quite unfortunate that instead of trusting constituency’s MPA, the Sindh government was running affairs through a political secretary, he said.

He said the MPA’s resignation came as a token of no-confidence expressed against the government in addressing the development of Larkana.

He said that Moazzam Ali Abbasi had returned to the Sindh Assembly twice by defeating PPP candidates and remained vocal on the floor for the rights of his constituency.

After saying goodbye to the seat, he would continue to serve people in his personal capacity, he said, adding that: “We stand by Moazzam Ali Abbasi.”

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2022