A file photo of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Nihal Hashmi. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Nehal Hashmi will today take oath as the 35th Governor of Sindh at a ceremony scheduled for 4 pm at the Governor’s House in Karachi.
The oath will be administered by the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, after which Hashmi will officially assume office as the 35th governor of the province.
Hashmi, a Karachi-based lawyer and politician, was a member of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to February 2018. Born on January 28, 1960 in Karachi, he began practicing law in the late 1980s and specializes in criminal and constitutional cases.
During his student years, he founded the All Pakistan Youth League and later formally entered politics in the 1990s. He joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in 1992 and served as an advisor on law, justice and human rights to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from 1997 to 1999.
He has represented clients in several high-profile matters, including matters involving Nawaz Sharif before the National Accountability Bureau and proceedings related to the Murtaza Bhutto affair. Hashmi served as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president for Karachi in 2012 and was appointed general secretary of the party in Sindh in August 2014.
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In 2015, he was elected to the Senate from a Punjab seat on the PML-N ticket. He also actively raised civic issues related to Karachi. The PML-N-led federal government later appointed him as governor of Sindh.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday approved the appointment of Nehal Hashmi as the new governor of Sindh on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, replacing Kamran Tessori.
According to a statement from the President’s House, the approval was granted under Articles 48 and 101 of the Constitution. The president also signed the nomination committee formalizing Hashmi’s appointment. Earlier, the Prime Minister sent a summary to the President for approval and later met Hashmi to congratulate him.
Hashmi will take oath before the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court before officially taking office. The President and the Prime Minister extended their congratulations and expressed their best wishes for his tenure.
Meanwhile, outgoing Governor Kamran Tessori thanked the President, Prime Minister and other officials for their support during his tenure and expressed hope that the new governor would continue public welfare initiatives, especially support programs for IT students in the province.
