MATIARI, April 17: A large number of people attended the Dastarbandi – a ceremony to formally install a new chief of a clan – of Syed Mohammad Ali Shah, son of the late Sardar Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah Jamote, held in his ancestral village Shah Alam Shah Ji Wasi, about 200 kilometres from Karachi on Sunday afternoon.

Elder relatives, chiefs of other clans, notables from across the province and friends tied the Dastar (turban) around the head of Syed Mohammad Ali Shah to express solidarity with him and to acknowledge their support.

In what was described as a rare occasion, the first lap of the turban was tied by Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara whose friendship with the late Jamote stretched over four decades. Pir Pagara seldom attends such ceremonies.

The last lap of the turban was tied by Patrick Mavros, the late Jamote's friend of over 30 years, who along with his four sons had flown in from Zimbabwe to attend the ceremony.

The late Jamote belonged to the Musapota branch of the clan of Matiari Syeds who trace their family links to Hazrat Imam Musa Kazim. Their elder Syed Haider Shah had migrated from Herat in Hijra 801 and settled in Matiari. Zulfiqar Shah was the 11th Jamote and his elder son Mohammad Ali Shah became the 12th Jamote on Sunday.

“When my father became Jamote he was 21 years old. I will try my best to serve my people well,” said Mohammad Ai Shah Jamote, who obtained a BSc degree in Agriculture Science from a college in the UK.

He is associated with Pir Pagara's Pakistan Muslim League-F and became the district Nazim of Matiari after it was separated from Hyderabad before the 2005 local body's polls.

Those who attended the ceremony included Jam Madad Ali, leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly; Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Finance Minister; Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, Syed Ameer Haider Shah, Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah, Liaquat Jatoi, Mir Manzoor Panwhar, Hameed Akhund, Sohail Akbar Shah, Ameer Ali Shah Jamote and Aftab Shah Jamote.