PPPP President and Sarwari Jamaat chief Amin Fahim dies

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) President and Senior Vice Chairman of the PPP Makhdoom Amin Fahim passed away here in the small hours of Saturday after losing a long fight against blood cancer. He was 76.
He was laid to rest next to the grave of his father Makhdoom Muhammad Zaman Talib-ul-Maula in his native Hala town.
His condition deteriorated during the last few weeks causing him serious weakness.
He is survived by eight sons and three brothers while one of his sons, Makhdoom Jamil-uz-Zaman, is currently Sindh Revenue Minister.
He was also the spiritual head of the Sarwari Jamaat whose followers exceed 0.9 million in Pakistan and abroad. He had a life-long association with poetry and used to write his own poems.
His funeral prayers were offered in the compound of Ghous-ul-Haq Makhdoom Sarwar Nooh Shrine in Hala.
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah, MNAs, MPAs, senior politicians, political activists, followers and supporters attended the funeral.
Fahim had been under treatment at the South City Hospital in Clifton since October 26 after his arrival back home by an air ambulance from Dubai. He also remained under treatment in Germany, the UK, and the UAE.
He was born on August 4, 1939 in Hala. He secured his primary education from Hala and did his matriculation in 1957 and graduation in political science from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro in 1961.
He joined politics from the platform of the Pakistan People’s Party while his father Talib-ul-Maula, being the 17th spiritual leader of the Sarwari Jamaat, was among 67 influential politicians of the country who joined the PPP at the time of its foundation.
He was elected the first time as a member of the Sindh Assembly from Thatta in the 1970 general elections. He boycotted the party-less polls held in 1985 during the regime of General Ziaul Haq under the policy of the PPP. Currently, he was MNA from NA-218 from his native town.
During the first term of Benazir Bhutto as prime minister from 1988 to 1990 he remained minister for communications while during her second tenure he was federal minister for housing and public works.
In 2008 when the PPP-led government came into power again he was made Minister for Commerce once more.
He used to take care of the entire affairs of the PPP during the self-exile of Benazir Bhutto till October 2007. He was the most trusted confidant of the late former prime minister.
It was reported that he had been offered the position of prime minister several times during the dictatorial regime of Pervez Musharraf but he never accepted the offer.
After the 2008 general elections, his differences with the PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari had been widely reported as he was not offered the position of prime minister when the PPP came into power after the 2008 general election. However, he remained committed to the party.
He was also head of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy formed during the Pervez Musharraf regime. In this capacity, he along with Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and other pro-democracy political forces led the struggle for the restoration of democracy.
In his condolence message, former president and co-Chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari said Amin Fahim’s death had caused serious damage to politics especially after the death of Benazir Bhutto.
He said Amin Fahim had rendered numerous services and matchless sacrifices for the cause of democracy.
Agencies add: Earlier Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Federal Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid, Federal Minister for Railways Saad Rafique, Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, Chairperson PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, AJK Assembly Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq, PPP Senator Islamuddin Shaikh, MNA Noman Islam Shaikh, MNA Dr Nafeesa Shah, MNA Dr Mahreen Bhutto and a large number of senators, MNAs, MPAs and leaders of various political parties and followers of the Sarwari Jamaat attended his Namaz-e-Janaza.
The central party leaders and elected representatives also offered condolences to Makhdoom Jamil-uz-Zaman, the elder son of the deceased, and his brothers Makhdoom Khaliq-uz-Zaman and Makhdoom Rafique-uz-Zaman at the Makhdoom House.
Emotional scenes were witnessed when the followers of the Sarwari Jamaat arrived here from different parts of Sindh to attend the funeral ceremony of their spiritual leader.
All business activities in Hala and other suburban towns and villages remained closed. The Sarwari Jamaat also announced three-day mourning on the death of their spiritual leader.