NAWABSHAH: Ismail Dahiri, who had served as an adviser to former Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and once remained a close aide to PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, was booked at the Jamal Shah police station of Nawabshah on a court order for allegedly keeping a woman in illegal confinement for nine months.

A court had earlier ordered recovery of Uzma Dahiri and registration of an FIR against Ismail Dahiri, his brother Raza and nephew Suleman along with sev­en other suspects. The order was pas­sed on an application filed by her father.

In her FIR (No.3/2024), Ms Uzma stated that she had contracted a freewill marriage with Manzoor Shah and lived with her for about two months. But later, she alleged, elders of her husband’s family Mitho Shah and Syed Ali Mohammed Shah came to their (couple’s) home and told her that they were under immense pressure from Ismail Dahiri, who wanted her to return to her parents for a brief period of time.

She further stated that Suleman Dahiri, Bashir Dahiri and six unknown persons took her to a bungalow of Raza Dahiri, and exerted pressure on her to marry Qadir Bakhsh Dahiri.

Uzma Dahiri alleged that she had been kept in illegal confinement in different houses for nine months during which she had also been subjected to torture.

She claimed that the suspects had also extorted Rs200,000 from her father for freeing her.

Ismail Dahiri is contesting for the PS-39 seat as an independent candidate now after his request for PPP ticket was declined by the party leadership. The party awarded the ticket to Dr Bahadur Dahiri making Ismail Dahiri to contest the election as an independent candidate.

In the meantime, Ismail Dahiri also met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during the latter’s recent travel to Naushahro Feroze for his election campaign. Dahiri complained to him that his sacrifices for the party were ignored in the distribution of party tickets des­pite the fact that he had suffered a lot.

Ismail Dahiri told the media that he, while speaking to his supporters at a corner meeting, shared with them his concern over being pressured to withdraw from the contest.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2024