Who is Murad Ali Shah?

Syed Murad Ali Shah, the successor to Qaim Ali Shah, belongs to a family of politicians. He is serving as the Sindh finance minister.
His father Syed Abdullah Shah also had the additional portfolio of finance when he served as chief minister of Sindh during Benazir Bhutto’s second government.

Murad, 54, is a graduate of the Stanford University from where he received MSc degrees in economic systems and civil structure engineering. In 1986, he gained a BE Civil Engineering degree from the NED University.

He hails from Jamshoro. His family belongs to Lakyari Syed, the descendent of Shah Sadaruddin Lakyari (Lakhi Shah Sadar) near Sehwan Sharif. From 1986 till 1990 he served as an engineer at Wapda, Port Qasim Authority and the Hyderabad Development Authority before joining the Citi Bank.

Shah was elected to the Sindh Assembly in the 2002 elections. He was again elected to the provincial assembly in the 2008 election, and assigned the portfolio of finance in the cabinet of Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah.

He was barred from contesting the 2013 elections because of his Canadian citizenship. However, he gave up his second nationality to run in the election. He was elected to the Sindh Assembly for a third consecutive time. He was subsequently assigned the finance ministry in the provincial cabinet.

There is a perception that Shah looks more a bureaucrat than a politician and is not social. However, people in his constituency think otherwise. “Like his father he knows most of the voters in his constituency,” social activist Mustafa Meerani, who lives in Shah’s constituency, said, adding Shah has established schools, dispensaries, constructed roads and provided jobs to poor people on merit.


Being a relative of Pir Pagara, Shah has always gained moral support from PML-F circles. This can be judged from the fact that during the 2002 elections when the PPP started lobbying to form government in Sindh and tried to convince the late Pir Pagara (Shah Mardan Shah) to support it, he responded to them saying, “I will only support you if you give the chief minister’s slot to my Lakiyari Lal (Murad Ali Shah).”

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Sindh governor accepts CM Qaim Ali Shah’s resignation

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah tendered on Wednesday his resignation to governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, paving the way for Murad Ali Shah to take control of the provincial government. Dr Ebad has accepted the resignation.

CM-nominee Murad, Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and Senior Minister for Education Nisar Khuhro accompanied Qaim.
As the CM has resigned, the Sindh Cabinet has also been dissolved.


“Dr Ishratul Ebad will summon a session of Sindh Assembly on Friday where election of new chief minister will take place,” Sindh information adviser Maula Bux Chandio told the media.

Chandio said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had a simple majority in the house but will seek support of opposition parties.
Durrani said the process of nomination forms for the chief minister will begin on Thursday, whereas the new CM will take the vote of confidence on Friday.

The PPP had decided on Sunday to make changes in Sindh cabinet and bring in a new chief minister for the province, replacing Qaim.

Party’s top leadership flew to the UAE on Saturday evening to hold discussions with Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on extension in Rangers’ special powers, among other issues.

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Sindh cabinet dissolved after Qaim Ali Shah's resignation

Sindh cabinet has been dissolved after Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah’s resignation was accepted by Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, reported Thursday.
A notification has been isused in this regard by the authorities concerned.

All ministers, advisors, special assistants, coordinators, political secretaries and political assistants have been ordered to not use their offices anymore.
A formal letter pertaining to Qaim Ali Shah’s resignation has also been issued by the Governor House.

The development has come in after Pakistan People’s Party leadership decided to replace Qaim Ali Shah with Murad Ali Shah who currently is the Finance Minister of Sindh.
For election, Murad needs 85 votes in the Sindh Assembly and the process will be carried out on Friday. PPP has 91 seats in the assembly out of which few members are out of the country and are not expected to be present tomorrow.

PPP leaders are contacting members of different political parties to secure vote of confidence for their nominee.

On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has nominated Khurram Zaman Khan as candidate for the vacancy.

Qaim Ali Shah’s tenure as Chief Minister was marked by mismanagement and ill state of affairs in Sindh. PPP leadership’s decision has come in to better manage the provincial matters.
The PPP nominee, while talking to Dunya News on Wednesday said that he would better law and order situation to a level that people would vote for PPP in General Elections 2018.

Experts have said that Murad main task will be to have PPP win in the province in 2018.

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PPP names Murad Ali Shah as new Sindh CM

Pakistan's Largest Party PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari  presided a meeting of the parliamentary party at the Bilawal House where Qaim Ali Shah submitted his resignation. The meeting lasted for three hours.
PPP chairman took party leaders into confidence on the decision.

Speaking at a press conference, Adviser to CM for Information, Moula Bux Chandio, confirmed the nomination of Murad Ali Shah as CM and said that a 'change' has come in the province.

Shah is expected to be elected as the chief minister during the Sindh Assembly session on Friday, while the oath-taking ceremony would also take place on the same day.

Chandio further said that consultation was ongoing for the replacement of Qaim Ali Shah for quite some time and that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid tributes to him for his services.

There was a need for more energetic and courageous leader to prepare for the next elections, he said, adding that the names of Murad Ali Shah's team would also be revealed in a couple of days.

Some other changes in the provincial government are also likely as the Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani might become the minister for local government, a position he had held in the previous provincial cabinet.
Dr Sikandar Mandhro, Minister for Environment, could be the new speaker of the Sindh Assembly. Senior Minister for Education and Parliamentary Affairs Nisar Ahmed Khuhro could be given the slot of either home or finance. Mir Nadir Khan Magsi is likely to rejoin the provincial cabinet as food minister, a portfolio he had in the previous provincial government.

Jam Khan Shoro, the Minister for Local Government, could be given the charge of Prisons Department.It is likely that 50 percent of the new provincial cabinet would comprise newcomers including three women MPAs, Rubina Sadaat Qaimkhani, Shaheena Sher Ali and Irum Khalid, as ministers or advisers. 

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Education by Sindh Education Foundation

Sindh Government’s Education and Literacy Department plays the supervisory role in primary education and manages secondary education, technical education, motivation programs, development schemes and to look after the educational affairs of the province with the co-ordination of donor agencies about the promotion of education in the province.

Sindh Education Foundation Government of Sindh, a semi-autonomous organization established in 1992 to undertake educational initiatives in the remote and disadvantaged areas of Sindh. The Foundation’s early activities began with the provision of grants and loans to educational institutions and organizations. However, SEF now provides communities with direct access to facilities to get the education by opening schools/centers through its various endeavors.

In addition, the Foundation undertakes research initiatives, both the qualitative and quantitative, to study the impact of its programs and recognize improved systems for community improvement. SEF's publications include Educate is Pakistan's 1st Magazine on Education & Development, also Pakistan’s Pioneer Publication on Early Childhood Development, Collective, Quantitative Analysis Booklet, the organization’s Newsletter, SEF ten-year documents and various literacy manuals.

The variety of SEF's goals can principally describe as follows:

•                  Evolve programs for lift up the standard of education.

•           Conduct research programs or surveys or hold workshops, conferences, symposium, to study the educational system, to find shortfalls and weak points and make suggestions or necessary measures for its improvement.

•               Offer financial help or grant under soft terms and conditions.

            Establish educational institutions, especially in less                              developed/less privileged areas.

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Sindh Education Foundation

Sindh Government’s Education and Literacy Department plays the supervisory role in primary education and manages secondary education, technical education, motivation programs, development schemes and to look after the educational affairs of the province with the co-ordination of donor agencies about the promotion of education in the province.

Sindh Education Foundation Government of Sindh, a semi-autonomous organization established in 1992 to undertake educational initiatives in the remote and disadvantaged areas of Sindh. The Foundation’s early activities began with the provision of grants and loans to educational institutions and organizations. However, SEF now provides communities with direct access to facilities to get the education by opening schools/centers through its various endeavors.

In addition, the Foundation undertakes research initiatives, both the qualitative and quantitative, to study the impact of its programs and recognize improved systems for community improvement. SEF's publications include Educate is Pakistan's 1st Magazine on Education & Development, also Pakistan’s Pioneer Publication on Early Childhood Development, Collective, Quantitative Analysis Booklet, the organization’s Newsletter, SEF ten-year documents and various literacy manuals.

The variety of SEF's goals can principally describe as follows:

•                  Evolve programs for lift up the standard of education.

•           Conduct research programs or surveys or hold workshops, conferences, symposium, to study the educational system, to find shortfalls and weak points and make suggestions or necessary measures for its improvement.

•               Offer financial help or grant under soft terms and conditions.

            Establish educational institutions, especially in less                              developed/less privileged areas.

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Education in Sindh

Pakistan’s seaport province Sindh plays vital role in economy, but in return power players ignore education sector of Sindh, resting it is on lowest level, though there are some urban areas institutions have shown considerable improvement. However, due to the corruption in this sector, the quality of education is unfortunately on a down root. The government must look at the total enrollment, number of out of school children, too. Sindh government spends 22 percent on education which is indeed a healthy figure.

From 2013 the education sector is a depressing picture to have a look on the quality of education. A recent estimation shows less participation of boys and they are compelled to do the work of child labor especially, in rural areas due to poverty. The education of girls is satisfying in the cities, but girls are deprived from education in most rural and urban areas. Every government especially PPP after success in 2008 election had promised to work upon the poor education system in the province. But they could not fulfill its commitment no any proper policies for education brought for development.

The central government has also ignored this matter and the NGOs also don’t focus on rural areas to build up the broken system of education in the province. The government has to come up with appropriate measures in order to rise up the literacy rate by building up the broken system.

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