Monday, July 25, 2016
By
GEO NEWS

Murad Ali Shah—top contender for CM Sindh slot

By
GEO NEWS
|
Murad Ali Shah—top contender for CM Sindh slot

KARACHI: It is time for the octogenarian Pakistan People’s Party chief minister to resign. The butt of all ‘age’ jokes on social media and known for his slips of tongue on public occasions, Qaim Ali Shah will hand in his resignation this week to make way for a much younger chief minister Murad Ali Shah, who belongs to a family of politicians and currently serves as the provincial finance minister.

The 54-year-old Murad is an alumni of the prestigious Stanford University where he received MSc degrees in economic systems and civil structure engineering. In 1986 he gained a BE Civil Engineering degree from NED University.

Murad hails from Jamshoro. From 1986 till 1990 he served as an engineer at WAPDA, port Qasim Authority and Hyderabad Development Authority.

His father, Syed Abdullah Shah was Sindh Chief Minister from 1993 till 1996 in Benazir Bhutto’s government.

Murad Ali Shah started his political career in 2002 and got elected as a Member of Sindh Assembly. In 2008, after being selected an MPA from Jamshoro, he served as finance minister in Sindh government.

However the 2013 election campaign did not bring glad tidings for Murad, as his dual citizenship became a hurdle in his participation. Sacrificing his other nationality, he partook in the general elections and once again became finance minister in the Sindh cabinet.

Apparently, the recent top level PPP huddle in Dubai became a bearer of good news for Murad as his name surfaced as the strongest candidate for the CM slot.

Despite the big shot, it might turn out to be a bumpy road for the relatively new minister due to the existing challenges to the Sindh government such as prevalence of peace in Karachi, policing powers and reach of Rangers, better governance and last but not the least saving face for the PPP.