Nehal Hashmi sworn in as Sindh's 35th governor

KARACHI: Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) Nehal Hashmi took oath as the 35th governor of Sindh during a ceremony held at the Governor House in Karachi on Thursday.

The oath was administered by Zafar Ahmed Rajput, Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court.

The ceremony was attended by several key government officials, including Syed Murad Ali Shah, Senior Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Sindh Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjhar, the chief secretary of Sindh, Salman Abdullah Murad, and Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho.

A Karachi-based lawyer and politician, Hashmi previously served as a member of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to February 2018. Born on January 28, 1960, in Karachi, he began practising law in the late 1980s and is known for handling criminal and constitutional cases.

During his student years, he founded the All Pakistan Youth League and later entered active politics in the 1990s. He joined the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in 1992 and served as an adviser on law, justice and human rights to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from 1997 to 1999.

Hashmi has represented clients in several high-profile legal cases, including matters involving Nawaz Sharif before the National Accountability Bureau and proceedings related to the Murtaza Bhutto case. He was appointed president of PML-N Karachi in 2012 and later became the party’s general secretary in Sindh in August 2014.

In 2015, he was elected to the Senate on a Punjab seat on the PML-N ticket and remained active in raising civic issues concerning Karachi.

Earlier this week, Asif Ali Zardari approved Hashmi’s appointment as governor of Sindh on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, replacing Kamran Tessori.

According to a statement from the President’s House, the approval was granted under Articles 48 and 101 of the Constitution, with the president signing the formal commission of appointment after receiving a summary from the prime minister.

Both the president and the prime minister congratulated Hashmi and conveyed their best wishes for a successful tenure.

Meanwhile, outgoing governor Kamran Tessori thanked the president, the prime minister and other officials for their support during his tenure and expressed hope that the new governor would continue public welfare initiatives, particularly programmes aimed at supporting IT students in the province.