Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has decided to continue with Murad Ali Shah in the Chief Minister’s Office and Agha Sirajuddin Durrani as the Speaker of the House in Sindh. The decision was taken at a meeting of the PPP parliamentary party, presided over by the chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Rehana Leghari’s name was finalised for the office of deputy speaker in the Sindh Assembly. Addressing the gathering, Bilawal stressed upon the newly-elected MPAs that the people of the province had returned the party to power thrice in a row and that they attached high expectations from it to deliver good governance. He asked the party lawmakers to forget the last 10 years in power and urged them to get ready for a new era of more transparent and merit-based governance. The PPP chairman said that issues of water scarcity, and health and education sectors would be the priorities of the incoming government, adding that the chief minister and ministers should be consider themselves to be elected for a lifetime. “I will personally monitor the government’s performance,” he said. Commenting on the July 25 polls, Bilawal said various puppets were brought forward to challenge the PPP in Sindh but the people of the province defeated them and their masters with the power of their ballots. He said another group of puppets was being inducted into power in the Centre and pledged that the PPP would expose the group and defeat it through democratic means. PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, former Chief Ministers Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Murad Ali Shah, PPP Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, General Secretary Waqar Mehdi, Information Secretary Aajiz Dhamrah, and Faryal Talpur were also present on the occasion. The inaugural session of the Sindh Assembly has been summoned on August 13 at 10am. Opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly have yet to announce their candidates for the offices of the CM, speaker and deputy speaker. A meeting has been called by the joint opposition including PTI, MQM-Pakistan, and GDA on Monday to mull over names for these posts. Published in Daily Times, August 12th 2018.