KARACHI:
In a sudden change in Sindh’s political landscape, PML-N leader Nehal Hashmi was named governor of the province replacing Kamran Tessori on Thursday after President Asif Ali Zardari approved a summary from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The move, launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week, sparked a sharp response from coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), exposing new tensions within the ruling alliance.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday, the Prime Minister met Hashmi at PM House earlier this week and decided to nominate him for the constitutional office.
The approval was given on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz under Article 48 and 101 of the Constitution.
The president also signed the appointment commission formalizing Hashmi’s nomination to the constitutional office, a press release from a presidency said.
President Zardari congratulated Nehal Hashmi on his appointment and expressed his best wishes for successful discharge of his responsibilities as Governor.
It added that Nehal Hashmi will assume his duties after taking oath of office of the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court (SHC).
A video of the meeting showed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah present during the interaction.
Nehal Hashmi later expressed gratitude to the party leadership after his nomination.
Speaking to Express News, Hashmi said he was thankful to party leader Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz for nominating him for the post.
“God willing, I will work to solve public problems across Karachi and the rest of Sindh,” he said.
Hashmi added that he would pursue an inclusive approach and seek to strengthen cooperation between the federal and Sindh governments.
“I will bring everyone along, remain in touch with all stakeholders and work to further strengthen the working relationship between the federal and Sindh governments,” he said.
The change marks a significant shift in the province’s political equation as the governorship of Sindh has shifted from the MQM-P back to the PML-N.
The name of Karachi-based Nehal Hashmi has been finalized as the new governor of Sindh, making him the province’s 33rd governor. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his colleagues felicitated Hashmi in Islamabad on Thursday.
Senior MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar, who is considered close to Kamran Tessori, told the Express Pakinomist that the federal government decided to change the governor of Sindh to appease the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
According to him, the decision strengthens a corrupt and worst system which has been imposed on Sindh for the past eighteen years. He added that if their governor is removed without any reason, the MQM-P has no justification to remain in the government.
MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari also told reporters that the PML-N did not consult his party regarding the decision to change the governor.
Quoting party chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, he said that Kamran Tessori has been removed and Nehal Hashmi appointed as governor and that the party will now decide its future course of action.
He added that the region is already under tension due to war situations and since MQM-P is an important ally of the federal government, it would have been better if they had been taken into confidence.
The MQM-P itself remains internally divided between the Bahadurabad faction and the Mustafa Kamal faction, with some quarters within the party blaming Kamran Tessori for the split. In such circumstances, the sudden removal of the party’s governor has caused unrest in the MQM ranks.
But an MQM leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the party has accepted the change of governor and has no intention of starting a protest movement or leaving the government, contrary to the earlier statement of Farooq Sattar.
According to him, Sattar’s proposal to quit the government could be his personal opinion, possibly because of his closeness to Kamran Tessori.
From the time Kamran Tessori joined the MQM, became the party’s deputy convener and later the governor of Sindh, he was seen within the MQM as a figure with strong connections from Karachi to Rawalpindi and Islamabad – something party leaders often acknowledged.
Now the question arises: was it really so easy to remove a person who had secured such an important federal position in the province in such a short time?
Sources say the establishment group that had brought Tessori forward is no longer as strong in government formation as it once was. Meanwhile, the PPP had pressured both the federal government and the establishment, saying anyone could be appointed governor but Kamran Tessori was unacceptable.
Sources further said that Tessori had been strongly criticizing the Sindh government for quite some time and the criticism intensified after the Gul Plaza incident. After the Gul Plaza incident, statements during a conference in the governor’s house about placing Karachi under federal control or creating a separate province triggered serious tensions between the PPP and the governor, making reconciliation almost impossible.
Nor were separatist groups in Sindh likely to support the PPP unless Tessori was removed.
These groups strongly oppose making Karachi a separate province.
On Thursday, Kamran Tessori hosted his last iftar party at the Governor’s House and spoke in a somber tone.
“I was not a silent, deaf or ceremonial governor and I do not want to be. I have been punished for becoming the voice of the Gul Plaza victims.”
In his characteristic style, Tessori added: “The party has only just begun. I will continue to speak for the rights of Karachi and against the incompetence of the Sindh government.”
Congratulating Nihal Hashmi, he said, “I am not one to be afraid. The ones who should be afraid are the ones whose secrets I know.”
Kamran Tessori was MQM’s second governor. Before him, Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan served as the governor of Sindh for 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, the longest tenure in the province’s history. He left office and went abroad after MQM founder Altaf Hussain’s anti-Pakistan speech on 22 August 2016.
Nihal Hashmi is the third governor from PML-N. Earlier, Mamnoon Hussain served as the governor in 1999 while Muhammad Zubair held the office in 2017-2018.
Since the creation of Pakistan, Sindh has had four permanent governors and one acting governor from the PPP, one each from the PTI and PML-Q, six under military administration, two under civilian administration and two appointed by the judiciary between 1988 and 1990.
Since independence, only one woman has served as governor of Sindh – Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, who held the office from 1973 to 1976.
