UMERKOT: A hero of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) and PPP stalwart, Nawab Yousuf Talpur, breathed his last on Wednesday in a private hospital at Karachi where he was admitted after suffering from lung infection. He was 82.

A Pakisatan Peoples Party MNA and member of the party’s central executive committee, Mr Talpur was born in a village, Mithy-je-Khaan, near Jaimesabad / Kot Ghulam Mohammad on Jan 15, 1943. He was a voice of Sindh for water and minorities issues.

Mr Talpur, who started his political career from the Sindh University Students’ Union, was considered a nationalist. In 1977, he was elected as a member of the provincial assembly from Umerkot on a PPP ticket. Later, he joined the Sindhi-Baloch-Pashtun Front led by Murtaza Bhutto. But after losing the elections in 1988 and 1990, he rejoined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

During the past six general elections i.e., from 1993 to 2024, Nawab Talpur had lost only once when Pir Noor Mohammad Shah Jeelani of the PML-N had defeated him in the 1997 general elections.

He served as a member of the National Assembly six times during his political career and also held the position of a federal minister in 1993.

From the 2002 elections to 2024, he remained undefeated for five consecutive terms and was an MNA till today.

He left two sons, four daughters and a wife to mourn his death. One of his wives already died. His son Nawab Taimur Tulpur is also an MPA.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2025