SUKKUR: Senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party Jam Saifullah Dharejo, who had twice remained provincial minister and six times elected to the provincial assembly, on Friday announced parting ways with the party and contesting PS-21 (Ghotki) seat in the upcoming general election on a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) ticket.

Addressing a press conference at the Sukkur Press Club in the presence of MMA’s Sindh president Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and other MMA leaders, Mr Dharejo said the PPP awarded ticket for PS-21 (Ghotki) seat to Ali Nawaz Mahar, who had remained an ally of military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf and a bitter opponent of the PPP.

He said he had joined the JUI-F and would defeat Mahar on an MMA ticket.

Mr Dharejo said Benazir Bhutto was his ideal leader as he had joined the PPP in 1985 because of her but after her assassination the PPP underwent a huge change and became ‘Zardari league’.

He said Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari too did not live up to people’s expectations and it was increasingly becoming difficult for him to live with the people who did not give any value to the party. He alleged that the PPP had now split into four groups and Faryal Talpur had virtually hijacked the party and all institutions. When he was minister all decisions were being made by her, he claimed.

He had been associated with the PPP for more than 30 years, but party workers no longer had any importance in the party.

Mr Dharejo alleged that Rs15 billion corruption was made in Mr Bilawal’s constituency but he could not do anything. He said Sindh could not get rid of hunger and poverty as long as Mr Zardari, Ms Faryal and Mr Bilawal were at the helm of affairs.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2018