The federal government has decided to appoint senior Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nihal Hashmi as the new Governor of Sindh.
According to an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sent the summary of Hashmi’s appointment to President Asif Ali Zardari for approval.
Meanwhile, the prime minister also met Nihal Hashmi and congratulated him on the decision to appoint him as the governor of the province.
Political background
Nihal Hashmi is a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and belongs to Karachi. By profession, he is a lawyer and a seasoned politician. He served as a member of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to February 2018.
He was born on January 28, 1960, in the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Hashmi began his political career in the early 1990s.
Over the years, he has handled several high-profile legal cases. These include the accountability cases of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and proceedings related to the tribunal of Murtaza Bhutto.
Role in PML-N and government
Hashmi joined the Pakistan Muslim League-N in 1992. Later, in 1997, he was appointed adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on human rights and law and justice. He served in that role until 1999.
In 2012, he became president of PML-N Sindh. Two years later, the party appointed him as its provincial general secretary.
During the 2015 Senate elections, he won a seat on the PML-N ticket and entered the upper house of parliament. At the same time, he again served as adviser to the prime minister on law and justice.
Contempt of court case
However, on February 1, 2018, the court convicted Nihal Hashmi in a contempt of court case. The verdict sentenced him to one month in prison and imposed a fine of Rs50,000.
As a result, he lost his Senate membership and was disqualified for five years. After serving his one-month jail term, he was later released.
Now, the federal government has decided to appoint him as the next Governor of Sindh, subject to the president’s formal approval.
