Syed Syed may refer to: * Seyd, alternative for Sayyid (name) * Alternative for Sayyid, an honorific title * Ahsan Ali Syed (born 1973), Indian businessman * Ghulam Murtaza Syed (1904-1995), prominent Sindhi politician * Ibrahim Bijli Syed (born 1939) ...

Murad Ali Shah (; born 8 November 1962) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

politician and

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

who is currently serving as the

Chief Minister of Sindh The chief minister of Sindh (, —), is the elected head of government of Sindh and serves alongside the Chief Secretary. Murad Ali Shah is the current Chief Minister of Sindh, serving since 26 February 2024. The chief minister is the head of ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and a member of the

Sindh Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, its provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan ...

. It is his third term as Chief minister. Shah earlier held portfolios such as Minister of Irrigation of Sindh and Finance Minister of Sindh.

Early life and education

Shah was born in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

, to a Sindhi

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Lakyari

family. His father, Syed Abdullah Ali Shah also served as the chief minister of Sindh. Murad Ali Shah is the descendent of Sufi saint of Shah Sadaruddin Lakyari (Lakhi Shah Sadar) near Sehwan Sharif. Shah

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

from Saint Patrick's High School, did intermediate study at

D. J. Sindh Government Science College Dayaram Jethamal Sindh Government Science College, (Urdu: ڈی جے سندھ گورنمنٹ سائنس کالج) commonly known as DJ Science College, is a public community college that is affiliated with the Board of Intermediate Education Kara ...

in Karachi, and was admitted to the

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

programme at the

NED University of Engineering and Technology The NED University of Engineering & Technology is a public university located in the urban area of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest engineering universities in Pakistan, acknowledged for its best teaching practices and graduat ...

. He graduated with a

B.E. A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Bac ...

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

and was a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

ist on his graduation from the NED. After earning the Quaid-e-Azam scholarship, he went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where he completed his

M.Sc. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in structural engineering. He completed a second master's from Stanford University two years later in

economic system An economic system, or economic order, is a system of production, resource allocation and distribution of goods and services within an economy. It includes the combination of the various institutions, agencies, entities, decision-making proces ...

s where again he was on an international scholarship. From 1986 to 1990, Shah pursued his engineering career with the

Government of Sindh The Government of Sindh () () is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions under its authority and ju ...

as a water engineer at the

Water and Power Development Authority The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA include ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. He later went to join the

Port Qasim Authority The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) is an authority in Pakistan established in 1973, responsible for managing Port Qasim, which is the second busiest port in the country. Establishment and legislation The Port Qasim Authority was formed through the ' ...

. He was also a city engineer for

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Development Authority Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development hell, when a projec ...

. He was an engineer at Wapda, Port Qasim Authority and the Hyderabad Development Authority, before joining

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

. Shah worked for

in Sindh and in London. He also worked at the Gulf Investment Corporation in Kuwait.

Political career

He became a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh in 2002 for the first time representing PS-73 (Dadu III). He was elected to the

in 2008 as a member of the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

and was the provincial Minister for Irrigation in

Syed Qaim Ali Shah Syed Qaim Ali Shah ( ,) is a Pakistani politician who served as the elected Chief Minister of Sindh for three terms. His last two terms combined, a total of eight years, makes him the longest serving Chief Minister of Sindh. He is Sindh Preside ...

's cabinet. In 2013, he was made the provincial finance minister. In July 2016, Shah was elected to the chief minister's office. He was minister for irrigation (Sindh) and finance minister of Sindh before his elevation to chief minister of Sindh in 2016. Shah was barred from contesting in 2013 despite giving up his Canadian citizenship. After proving to the courts that he did not hold Canadian nationality, Shah was able 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.

Chief Minister of Sindh (2016-present)

Murad Ali Shah became

on 29 July 2016 after the ruling

(PPP) made the decision to replace Chief Minister

with Murad. Murad Ali Shah would become Sindh’s first and only Chief Minister to serve 3 consecutive times in a row. He served as Chief Minister from 2016 until the

2018 Sindh provincial election Provincial elections were held in the Pakistani province of Sindh to elect the members of the 13th Provincial Assembly of Sindh on 25 July 2018, alongside nationwide 2018 Pakistani general election, general elections and three other provincial e ...

, in which he was elected for the second time as Chief Minister as a PPP candidate. He would serve as Chief Minister for a relative full term until the

2024 Sindh provincial election Provincial elections were held in Sindh on 8 February 2024 to elect a new provincial legislature. On 5 August 2023, after the approval of the results of the 2023 digital census by the Council of Common Interests headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz ...

in which he was elected for the third time on a PPP ticket. Opposition to Murad, primarily the

Grand Democratic Alliance The Grand Democratic Alliance (; ) is a Regionalism (politics), regional political coalition of seven Sindh-based political parties. It was founded on 23 October 2017 by the Sindh-based Regionalism (politics), regional political parties along with ...

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...

and

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

have protested against electoral manipulation by the PPP in provincial elections several times, primarily in 2024, where Murad’s first few months in office were amid widespread protests against PPP rigging.

Policies and Criticism

Murad Ali Shah was originally appointed for the slot of Chief Minister by PPP due to his skill in distributing water and financial resources during his time in the federal government as well as his closeness to

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

according to PPP. However, critics and opposition to Murad accuse him and the PPP provincial government of bad governance, poor infrastructure, “ghost” schools, lack of government action, poor distribution of medicine and needs, bad management of government departments and an overall lack of development. According to some opposition politicians, the province has seen little to no government development or action with some suggesting that Sindh’s infrastructural and medical systems have worsened since Murad took office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Syed Murad Ali Living people 1962 births Chief ministers of Sindh Pakistan People's Party MPAs (Sindh) People from Jamshoro District Pakistani emigrants to Canada NED University of Engineering & Technology alumni Pakistani civil engineers Stanford University alumni St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni D. J. Sindh Government Science College alumni Sindhi people

Murad Ali Shah Sayyid, Syed Murad Ali Shah (; born 8 November 1962) is a Pakistani politician and structural engineer who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Sindh province of Pakistan and a member of the Sindh Assembly. It is his third term as Chi ...

Sindh MPAs 2008–2013 Sindh MPAs 2013–2018

People who lost Canadian citizenship Naturalized citizens of Canada People from Karachi