THATTA, April 9: The Shirazi brothers, who had recently affirmed their support for the Pakistan Peoples Party in the upcoming general elections under a deal that also earned them PPP tickets for one National Assembly and three provincial assembly seats, announced on Tuesday that they were parting ways with the PPP and would field independent candidates on all seven NA and PA seats of Thatta district.

The announcement was made by Shafqat Shah Shirazi, the head of the Shirazi group, at a press conference at Shirazi House.

Without naming Awais Muzaffar Tappi, Mr Shirazi expressed his strong reservations over the PPP decision to field “an undesirable person” on PS-88 Ghorabari seat as its candidate. He said the PPP had fielded an anti-people and anti-Sindh candidate for the coastal constituency. “We will never be instrumental in the game of betraying the local people and shattering their trust by allowing that person, who usurped thousands of acres of land of a number of small growers of the district, to contest election from Thatta,” he said, adding that the undesirable man did not belong to the district and also appeared to be a major player in the controversial Zulfikarabad project.

Mr Shirazi faced a barrage of questions regarding his group’s earlier decision to join the PPP. He explained that the group then was not aware of the PPP’s intention to field “a highly controversial man” for PS-88.

About other provisions of the deal with the PPP, he claimed that the party had also assured the Shirazi group that services of NCHD (National Commission of Human Development), irrigation and livestock employees would be regularised.

Mr Shirazi also complained of local PPP leadership’s behaviour with his group and supporters during a programme to pay homage to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on his death anniversary on Thursday.

“It seems that the Thatta PPP cadre is not happy over the Shirazis joining the party or feels isolated,” he remarked.

“If the controversial PPP candidate for PS-88 Ghorabari is allowed to win the seat, everything — the houses, villages, lands, islands, graveyards and the coastline of Thatta — will be at stake,” he claimed, and told journalists that the decision to part ways with the PPP was taken because Shirazis could not become part of this ‘conspiracy’.

At the press conference, chieftain of the Jat tribe Ghulam Qadir Malkani, an ex-adviser to former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, also announced his decision to quit the PPP and join the Shirazi group.

At the end, Mr Shirazi named his group’s candidates for two NA and five PA seats. He said that Syed Riaz Hussain Shah Shirazi and Syed Ayaz Hussain Shah Shirazi would be the independent candidates for the NA-237 Thatta-I and NA 238 Thatta II, respectively. For the provincial assembly seats, Haji Usman Malkani (against Awais Muzaffar Tappi) on PS 88 Ghorabari, Mohammad Ali Malkani on PS 86-Shah Bandar/Jati, Syed Aijaz Ali Shah Shirazi on PS 84-Thatta-I, Syed Amir Hyder Shah Shirazi (against Sassui Palijo) on PS 85 Mirpur Sakro and Shah Hussain Shah Shirazi on PS 87-Bathoro/Sujawal were nominated as independent candidates of the Shirazi group.