KARACHI:
In a sudden change in Sindh’s political landscape, PML-N leader Nehal Hashmi was appointed governor of the province, replacing Kamran Tessori on Thursday after President Asif Ali Zardari approved a summary proposed by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The move, initiated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week, triggered a sharp backlash from coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), revealing 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 the Prime Minister’s House earlier in the week and decided to appoint him to the constitutional post.
The approval was granted on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz under Articles 48 and 101 of the Constitution.
The President also signed the nomination commission formalizing Hashmi’s appointment to the constitutional post, a presidential press release said.
President Zardari congratulated Nehal Hashmi on his appointment and expressed best wishes for the successful discharge of his responsibilities as Governor.
He added that Nehal Hashmi will assume office after taking oath before the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC).
A video of the meeting showed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Prime Minister’s Advisor on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah present during the interaction.
Nehal Hashmi then expressed his gratitude to the party leadership following his appointment.
Speaking to Express News, Hashmi said he was grateful to party chief Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz for nominating him for the post.
“God willing, I will work to resolve public problems in 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 take everyone along, stay in touch with all stakeholders and work to further strengthen the working relationship between the federal and Sindh governments,” he said.
This change marks a significant shift in the political equation of the province, as the Sindh governorate shifted from the MQM-P to the PML-N.
Karachi-based Nehal Hashmi’s name has been finalized as the new governor of Sindh, making him the 33rd governor of the province. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his colleagues congratulated Hashmi on Thursday in Islamabad.
Senior MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar, considered close to Kamran Tessori, told Express PK Press Club that the federal government had decided to change the Sindh governor to appease the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
According to him, the decision reinforces a corrupt and worse system that has been imposed on Sindh for the last 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 had not consulted his party regarding the decision to change the governor.
Quoting party president Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, he said Kamran Tessori had been removed and Nehal Hashmi appointed governor, and the party would now decide its future course of action.
He added that the region is already under tension due to war situations and since the MQM-P is an important ally of the federal government, it would have been better if it had been taken into confidence.
The MQM-P itself remains divided internally between the Bahadurabad group and the Mustafa Kamal faction, and some circles within the party accuse Kamran Tessori of being responsible for the division. Under such circumstances, the sudden dismissal of the party governor caused unrest in the MQM ranks.
However, an MQM leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the party had accepted the change in governor and had no plans to launch a protest movement or quit the government, contrary to Farooq Sattar’s earlier statement.
According to him, Sattar’s suggestion to leave the government could be his personal opinion, probably due to his closeness to Kamran Tessori.
From the time Kamran Tessori joined the MQM, became party vice-president, and then governor of Sindh, he was seen within the MQM as a figure with close ties from Karachi to Rawalpindi and Islamabad – something the party leadership often acknowledged.
Now the question arises: was it really so easy to remove someone who had obtained such an important federal position in the province in such a short time?
Sources say the institutional group that pushed Tessori forward is no longer as strong in government formation as it once was. Meanwhile, the PPP had put pressure on both the federal government and the establishment, saying that anyone could be appointed governor, but Kamran Tessori was unacceptable.
Sources further said that Tessori has been highly critical of the Sindh government for some time and this criticism intensified after the Gul Plaza incident. After the Gul Plaza incident, statements made at a conference at the Governor House regarding placing Karachi under federal control or creating a separate province triggered serious tensions between the PPP and the governor, making reconciliation almost impossible.
Sindh separatist groups were also unlikely to support the PPP unless Tessori was removed.
These groups strongly oppose making Karachi a separate province.
On Thursday, Kamran Tessori hosted his final iftar party at the Governor’s House and spoke in a somber tone.
“I was not a silent, deaf or ceremonial governor, and I don’t want to be one. I was punished for becoming the voice of the Gul Plaza victims.”
In his characteristic style, Tessori added: “The party has just begun. I will continue to speak for the rights of Karachi and against the incompetence of the Sindh government.”
Praising Nihal Hashmi, he said, “I am not someone who is afraid. Those who should be afraid are those whose secrets I know.”
Kamran Tessori was the second governor of the MQM. Before him, Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan served as 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 August 22, 2016.
Nihal Hashmi is the third governor of the PML-N. Previously, Mamnoon Hussain served as governor in 1999, while Muhammad Zubair held the post in 2017-18.
Since the creation of Pakistan, Sindh has had four permanent governors and one acting governor from the PPP, one from the PTI and one from the PML-Q, six under military administration, two under civil administration and two appointed by the judiciary between 1988 and 1990.
Since independence, only one woman has been governor of Sindh: Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, who held the position from 1973 to 1976.
