KARACHI – Pervez Ali Shah Jilani, a senior politician of Sindh, formally announced on Wednesday that he is joining the All-Pakistan Muslim League (APML) led by former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
At a press conference held at the party’s newly-launched office in a plaza on Shahrah-e-Faisal, the central leadership of APML comprising Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, Maj Gen (retd) Rashid Qureshi and Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain welcomed Jilani in the party.
Barrister Saif said that Jilani has been assigned the office of chief organiser in the Sindh province for which an organising committee would be announced later.
“The party was in contact with Shah for the last few months, while he formally agreed to join the party during his recent meeting with Musharraf in Dubai,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Hussain said that former president Musharraf would return to the country during the current year.
Responding to a question, he said there would be no alliance of the Muslim league factions but a merger of different groups into a united Muslim league.
Jilani, formerly a senior leader of the PPP in Sindh, said that he finally decided to join the APML after his meeting with Musharraf.
“He satisfied me about all the queries during the meeting,” he said, adding that he does not want to start a confrontation with the PPP and other political parties and also expected the same from others.
On the occasion, he introduced two young members of the Syed clan of different political families for joining the APML.
Inayat Ali Shah, son of late Ihsan Ali Shah, from Dadu is the nephew of former PPP leader and Sindh chief minister Abdullah Shah and a cousin of provincial Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
The other was Ali Shah Jamote from Matiari, the nephew of PML-F leader Zulfiqar Ali Shah Jamote.
It is worth mentioning that Pervez Shah Jilani’s own brother, Javed Ali Shah Jilani, had joined the PPP recently after quitting from the PML-F.
Jilani is also the nephew of PPP’s provincial president and Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah.
