ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to appoint Nihal Hashmi as the new governor of Sindh, according to official sources.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sent a summary to Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan, for formal approval. Sharif also met Hashmi and congratulated him on the expected appointment.
The move comes amid political pressure over the position. Several leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party have demanded the removal of the current governor, Kamran Tessori, and repeatedly referred to power-sharing agreements reached during the formation of the coalition government. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan has so far declined to issue an immediate response.
Hashmi is a lawyer and veteran politician affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League (N). He served as a member of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to February 2018.
Earlier in his career, Hashmi worked as an adviser on law, justice and human rights to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from 1997 to 1999.
He has also held key party positions in Karachi and across Sindh, including serving as president of the PML-N Karachi chapter in 2012 and later as general secretary of the party’s Sindh chapter.
In February 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan convicted Hashmi in a contempt of court case. The court sentenced him to one month in prison and barred him from holding public office for five years.
