HYDERABAD: Commotion, verbal bouts and gatecrashing by PPP workers marred a party meeting at the house of a PPP lawmaker that was called on Monday to seek the opinion of PPP Sindh coordination committee members and party workers about the reorganisation of the party at provincial, divisional and district levels.

The committee members — Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Syeda Nafisa Shah, Rashid Rabbani and Maula Bux Chandio — arrived at the house of Qazi Asad Abid, former Hyderabad division PPP president and MNA, when all hell broke loose as the party workers broke down the outer door of an entrance of Mr Abid’s bungalow in Civil Lines area.

The committee members had earlier visited Tandojam in Hyderabad (rural) taluka to seek the opinion of the workers and then they reached Civil Lines area to do the same when chaos ensued between two groups, one comprising supporters of Jam Khan Shoro, Sindh livestock and fisheries minister and the other of Dr Irfan Gul Magsi, formerly associated with the PML-N. Both groups raised slogans in favour of their leaders for the post of district president. The sloganeering went out of hand and many gatecrashed the meeting.

Dr Irfan Gul Magsi and Jam Khan Shoro were also present inside and according to party sources both made personal attacks against each other. Dr Magsi was criticised by Mr Shoro for recently joining the party while Dr Magsi retaliated by accusing Mr Shoro for being a recent PPP recruit since he joined the party only in 2007 through Dr Zulfikar Mirza.

Shoro was general secretary in outgoing district Hyderabad body with Zahid Bhurgari as president. Dr Magsi had remained PPP Hyderabad district president in 1995-1996.

Even information adviser Maula Bux Chandio and CM’s consultant, Abdul Jabbar Khan, who were present at the meeting, exchanged hot words with each other as they are believed to be backing Magsi and Shoro respectively.

Later, committee members separately invited parliamentarians from Hyderabad district, PPP’s Sindh council members, former PPP office-bearers of district chapter, presidents and secretaries of provincial constituencies and presidents, general secretaries and other office-bearers of union committee level bodies. They proposed names for posts of president, general secretary and information secretary for district, divisional and provincial chapters.

Earlier, Mr Khuhro while addressing workers said that they had come to seek their opinion and workers should display passion typical of PPP workers. Workers had gathered to make Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari the next prime minister and they should put their house in order by bringing about improvement within the party, he added. “PPP is being reorganised after a long time … when Z. A. Bhutto had founded the PPP initially intellectuals and ideologues joined but soon he had a following of millions.”

Information adviser Maula Bux Chandio dispelled the impression that there was any grouping within the party. “Bilawal’s pride over his workers has won us over and our fear dissipated in this gathering. The enthusiasm of workers reflects that a new PPP is emerging for which I laud the workers,” he told journalists while responding to their questions. Downplaying the earlier commotion, he said that whenever there is a “worker’s movement” discipline often eludes it. He said that it is neither enmity nor grouping within workers. It is passion on the part of workers which is a hallmark of PPP activists, he added.

He said that coordination committee was working with enthusiasm and all tiers of party would be reorganised to enable PPP to play a vital political role in Sindh and Pakistan. He said that today’s gathering stunned PPP’s opponents and that was why they had taken it as chaos.

About Panama Papers, he said that had the PM come to parliament earlier this political crisis would not have taken place. He said that PPP had said that if PM is a political ruler then he must go to parliament which is a “shelter” for democratic rulers. “Parliament should be taken into confidence otherwise Panama Papers would keep haunting the prime minister.” He said that the PML-N always showed arrogance and if they give it up then the crisis would be easily resolved.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2016