Former Sindh Assembly speaker Agha SirajDurrani passes away at 72

KARACHI: PPP leader and former speaker of the Sindh Assembly Agha SirajDurrani passed away on Wednesday at the age of 72, according to a statement by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

In a statement issued by the Sindh CM House, Shah expressed deep sorrow and grief over Durrani’s passing. Murad called Durrani “a sincere, loyal and principled leader of the party, saying he played an important role in strengthening the Sindh Assembly and stabilising democracy.

“Agha SirajDurrani made public service the axis of his politics,” he said, expressing his condolences to the bereaved family.

“The services of the late Agha SirajDurrani will always be remembered,” he said.

President Asif Ali Zardari also expressed “deep sorrow” over Durrani’s passing.

“The president paid tribute to his political and public services, noting his role in strengthening democracy and serving the people of Sindh,” said a post by the Presidency on social media platform X.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also paid tribute to the late Durrani for his services as the Sindh Assembly speaker, saying that his contributions to politics and public welfare would “always be remembered”.

Born in 1953, Durrani completed his matriculation from Karachi’s St. Patrick’s School in 1971, and subsequently received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Karachi and his LLB degree from Karachi’s Sindh Muslim Law College.

Along with his older brother Agha Salahuddin, he had contested the 1985 party-less elections, held under General ZiaulHaq, from Shikarpur and lost. In 1990, he was arrested on charges of embezzlement in several cases during Nawaz Sharif’s first government and remained in jail for some time.

He had served two consecutive terms as the Sindh Assembly speaker, from 2013-2018 and from 2018-2023. Staff Report