PM nominates Nihal Hashmi as Sindh governor amid mounting criticism of Tessori

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to appoint senior PML-N leader Nihal Hashmi as the new governor of Sindh and has sent a summary to the president for approval, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday. 

The decision was taken by the prime minister himself and the summary regarding the appointment of Nihal Hashmi as the new governor of Sindh was sent to President Asif Ali Zardari for approval. 

The announcement was made by the PM Office Media Wing. The statement said that the prime minister has forwarded the summary to the president for the approval of the appointment of Nihal Hashmi as the new governor of Sindh. 

The prime minister also met Nihal Hashmi and congratulated him on being nominated as the new governor of Sindh. 

The decision was taken by the prime minister himself at a time when the incumbent governor of the province, Kamran Tessori, has been coming under severe criticism from legal circles and the political leadership of the country for allegedly running political activities at the Governor House. 

Last month, the Sindh Bar Council demanded the immediate removal of Tessori by President Zardari, declaring that political activities conducted at the Governor House were in violation of the Constitution.

A resolution adopted during the council’s 109th meeting on February 21 stated that the governor’s “involvement in political activities and using Governor House for political activities is in violation of the Constitution.”

On February 20, nationalist leaders from the Sindhi ethnic group also accused Tessori of transforming the Governor House into a platform for ethnic politics after an event attended by leaders from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

The leader of the Qaumi Awami Tehreek, Ayaz Latif Palijo, said that the Governor House had been used as a “centre for hatching conspiracies against Sindh and Pakistan,” and that any effort to destabilise Sindh would be a threat to national integrity.

On the following day, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, who is also the Information Minister, condemned hateful and linguistically biased speeches made during a ceremony held at the Governor House. Sharjeel said that such speeches were “deeply regrettable.”

Sharjeel Memon said that references made to state institutions during the event were also unfortunate. He said that such discussions were not suitable for a constitutional platform and had disrupted civic harmony.

He said that he was worried to see elected representatives using such platforms to disseminate biased messages. Sharjeel said that the event had threatened the culture of peace and brotherhood in Karachi, particularly after MQM leaders addressed each other.