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 moved by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The move, initiated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week, triggered a sharp reaction from coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), exposing fresh tensions within the ruling alliance.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday, the premier met Hashmi at the PM House earlier in the week and decided to nominate him for the constitutional office.
The approval was granted on the advice of PM Shehbaz under Articles 48 and 101 of the Constitution.
The president also signed the commission of appointment formalising Hashmi’s nomination for the constitutional office, a presidency’s news release said.
President Zardari congratulated Nehal Hashmi on his appointment and expressed his best wishes for the successful discharge of his responsibilities as governor.
It added that Nehal Hashmi will assume his duties after taking the oath of office before the chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC).
A video of the meeting showed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and the premier’s adviser on political affairs Rana Sanaullah present during the interaction.
Nehal Hashmi later expressed gratitude to the party leadership following his nomination.
Speaking to Express News, Hashmi said he was thankful to party leader Nawaz Sharif and PM Shehbaz for nominating him for the position.
“God willing, I will work to resolve public issues 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 take everyone along, remain in contact 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 moved from MQM-P back to the PML-N.
The name of Karachi-based Nehal Hashmi has been finalised as the new Governor of Sindh, making him the province’s 33rd governor. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his colleagues congratulated Hashmi in Islamabad on Thursday.
Senior MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar, who is considered close to Kamran Tessori, told Express Tribune 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 that has been imposed on Sindh for the past eighteen years. He added that if their governor is removed without any reason, MQM-P has no justification to remain with the government.
MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari also told journalists that 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 the 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.
MQM-P itself remains internally divided between the Bahadurabad group and the Mustafa Kamal faction, and some circles within the party blame Kamran Tessori for the division. In such circumstances, the sudden removal of the party’s governor has caused turmoil within MQM ranks.
However, an MQM leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the party has accepted the change of governor and has no intention of launching a protest movement or leaving the government, contrary to the earlier statement by Farooq Sattar.
According to him, Sattar’s suggestion of leaving the government might be his personal opinion, possibly due to his closeness with Kamran Tessori.
From the time Kamran Tessori joined MQM, became the party’s deputy convener, and later Governor of Sindh, he was regarded within 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 someone who had secured such an important federal position in the province in such a short time?
Sources say that the establishment group that had brought Tessori forward is no longer as strong in government formation as it once was. Meanwhile, the PPP had been pressuring both the federal government and the establishment, saying that anyone could be appointed governor, but Kamran Tessori was unacceptable.
Sources further said Tessori had been strongly criticising the Sindh government for quite some time, and that criticism intensified after the Gul Plaza incident. After the Gul Plaza incident, statements made during a conference at the Governor House about placing Karachi under federal control or creating a separate province triggered serious tensions between the PPP and the governor, making reconciliation nearly impossible.
Separatist groups in Sindh 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 House and spoke in a sombre tone.
“I was not a silent, deaf, or ceremonial governor, and I do not want to be one. 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 Karachi’s rights and against the incompetence of the Sindh government.”
Congratulating Nihal Hashmi, he said: “I am not someone who gets scared. Those 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 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 the anti-Pakistan speech of MQM founder Altaf Hussain on 22 August 2016.
Nihal Hashmi is the third governor from the PML-N. Previously, Mamnoon Hussain served as governor in 1999, while Muhammad Zubair held the office during 2017-2018.
Since the creation of Pakistan, Sindh has had four permanent governors and one acting governor from the PPP, one each from PTI and 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 served as Governor of Sindh — Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, who held the office from 1973 to 1976.
