Nehal Hashmi. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE:
The PML-N’s decision to appoint Nehal Hashmi as Sindh governor reflects a conciliatory approach towards its ally, the PPPP – a move that well-placed party leaders say can keep the peace but is unlikely to allow the party to gain political traction in the province.
Party members say the move demonstrates a cautious political strategy in Sindh, where the PML-N has historically struggled to build a strong organizational base and must manage its relationship with the PPP carefully.
Speaking to The Express PK Press Club, a PML-N leader said that it was indeed good news for the party workers to see a loyalist being rewarded in this manner by the leadership.
He said Nehal Hashmi even stood by the PML-N when the party disowned him and even belittled him somewhat. “He is a true ideological worker of the PML-N. However, his appointment is a compromise at best.”
The leader added that Sindh party leaders might have preferred a more aggressive political player for the post.
According to the leader, not nominating PML-N Sindh president Bashir Memon was understandable given his long-standing differences with President Asif Ali Zardari, although he acknowledged that the party needed someone with Memon’s assertive style.
He said not nominating PML-N Sindh president Bashir Memon made sense, considering his long-standing issues with President Asif Ali Zardari. But the party needed someone like him.
The leader further argued that the PML-N still lacked a strong organizational structure in Sindh.
He said that the PML-N has no real party structure in Sindh, adding that those who put their blood and sweat into it wanted the party to take an aggressive line against the PPP in Sindh in order to create space for itself.
However, he noted that the party usually adopted a confrontational tone against the Sindh government only when tensions with the PPP escalated in Punjab.
“He said that the appointment of Nehal Hashmi would only promote this policy of appeasement. He said that Nehal too would take on the Sindh government only when and where necessary.”
He added that a tacit agreement between the two sides appeared aimed at avoiding open confrontation and preventing other political actors from profiting from the discord.
He said this unspoken policy between the two, aimed at peaceful co-existence, was monitored to ensure that no third party took advantage of any discord.
Another source said he had long believed that Irfan Memon would be the party’s choice for Sindh governor.
The source noted that Irfan Memon’s hard-hitting stand against the PPP government in Sindh resonated strongly with voters in interior Sindh and could have made him a strong candidate.
However, the source suggested that the PML-N could have mirrored the PPP’s political approach in Punjab. Since the PPP appointed a toothless governor in Punjab, the PML-N could have reciprocated by appointing a docile governor in Sindh, he added.
PML-N-appointed former Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair also commented on the developments while speaking to The Express PK Press Club. He said Nehal was a good choice as far as PML-N was concerned. However, a choice, he said, will do no good for the party.
Zubair said Bashir Memon’s perceived anti-Zardari stance may have worked against him. He also highlighted an informal political tradition linked to ethnic balance in the highest offices of the province.
He said there is also this unspoken rule that if CM is from rural Sindh, then the governor must be of Mohajir origin. “And in this case, CM is of Sindhi origin, and if Memon was selected, he was also from the same background, which is why someone of Mohajir origin was chosen.”
