JAMSHORO: A portrait of assassinated Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto stands in the corner of a spacious drawing room where dozens of men sit waiting to meet Special Assistant to Sindh Chief Minister Dr Sikandar Shoro. They are here to request help in various political and administrative matters from the bearded and bespectacled PPP leader who, nowadays, finds himself wielding more power and party favour than Sardar Malik Asad Sikandar, PPP’s only MNA from Jamshoro.

Sardar Sikandar used to be considered invincible in this area. “There is a common saying here that ‘not a bird can fly in Jamshoro without Sardar Sikandar’s permission’,” an official of the district administration shares. “Now even the SHO of the police station in Malik’s native town has been replaced. The civil administration is busy examining land records of Revenue Department to see how they are being managed,” he says, adding that these were disturbing signs.

Many believe that the winds of change in Jamshoro seek to isolate Sardar Sikandar, who has fallen out of party favour after developing differences on land acquisition in some villages with the real estate tycoon of Bahria Town fame. The apparent conflict with the Bahria Town management is centred in the Deh Kathore of Malir and the issue of merging Deh Mole and parts of Kohistan with Malir — a point Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Shah vehemently rejects. In view of these confrontations with the Bahria Town management, a recent party decision has now placed Dr Shoro, an MPA from Jamshoro, and his cabinet colleague Jam Khan Shoro at the helm of this change.

Located a few paces away from Dr Shoro’s house, Sardar Sikandar’s house wears a deserted look with a few servants milling around waiting to receive visitors. There aren’t many. “Sahab is not present so we don’t see a rush of people,” one of them says.

Dressed in crisp white cotton shalwar kameez, a man greets me at the entrance to his house. “People usually turn up to request sahab to mediate for them with the administration and police officials. In the last few days, however, the entire civil administration and police machinery has changed here and Sardar Sikandar is not around, so we just sit idle,” he says.

Recently in Jamshoro, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) issued notices to various housing schemes launched without its approval and demolished several booking offices. Similarly, the district administration shut down several sand and gravel businesses for not completing legal formalities. Many of these businesses belonged to Sardar Sikandar’s friends and it is said that none of the housing schemes could have been developed without his blessing.

MPA Faqir Dad Khoso of PPP, Sardar Sikandar’s trusted friend, has been camping at a private housing scheme owned by his friend Arbab Samoon, which now faces demolition.

“We say talk to us...We have valid documents and can’t leave our people in a lurch,” Faqir insists. He straightaway blames Dr Sikandar Shoro and Mr Jam Shoro for orchestrating a conspiracy of sorts against Sardar Sikandar, but stops short of revealing the identity of those passing the directives.

Commenting on the matter, Dr Shoro shares his official position: “There is a hype being created around this [land acquisition conflict]. If the government is taking action against illegal housing schemes on state land, our party lawmakers should not take sides with those involved in wrongdoing. He [referring to Mr Khoso] should have spoken to the chief minister or the party leadership if he had grievances.”

A Karachi-based PPP leader confides that Mr Khoso had earlier met PPP’s Faryal Talpur at Bilawal House, and adds that he had not gotten a noteworthy audience with her. The latest setback for Sardar Sikandar came on Friday after a civil court dismissed five lawsuits filed by builders, including several friends of his, against the demolition of housing schemes and booking offices by the SBCA. A new demolition drive is expected to begin soon.

The Bahria Town management has approached the PPP leadership regarding the land acquisition issue, claiming that the people of Kachhelo village and others had not handed land over to them even after they had paid for it. Police have also registered a case against residents of the villages on behalf of the real estate firm. While Sardar Sikandar has placed his weight behind the villagers, Bahria Town has not issued an official statement on the matter.

Azeem Kachhelo of old Shafi Kacchelo village says, “Bahria Town’s security personnel intimidate us every day. They say the land in Lal Bux, Shafi and Ameer Bux Kachhelo villages will be used to build a road to connect Bahria Town, which is four kilometres away from us. We haven’t sold our village land to them. Sardar sahab is with us.” Gadap Police registered a case against Mr Kachhelo on June 6, on a complaint filed by the Bahria Town’s security personnel.

It is in the backdrop of this conflict that the PPP is looking to counter Sardar Sikandar’s power in the region with the clout of Dr Shoro and Mr Jam Shoro. However, many believe that because Dr Shoro does not have what it takes to sideline Sardar Sikandar, Mr Jam Shoro has assumed the responsibility of ‘de facto incharge’ in the area. PPP leaders have shared that according to a party decision, Mr Jam Shoro had his pick of the new appointments in Jamshoro’s administrative and district police set-ups. Other party leaders have claimed that Sardar Sikandar’s wavering party loyalties in previous elections makes him “untrustworthy”.

Another likely embarrassment comes in the form of Sardar Sikandar’s cousin and long-time political rival Malik Changez, currently president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Jamshoro chapter, who is looking to join the PPP. Mr Changez has confirmed his intent to join the PPP soon and says, “We want to end the ‘sardari system’ in Jamshoro...otherwise I am not against PPP.”

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2017