- Farooq Sattar urges PM to review his decision.
- Tessori was replaced by government last week.
- Tessori became governor in October 2022.
KARACHI: A top Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader has sought the restoration of Karam Tessori as the Sindh governor.
In a statement, MQM-P Senior Deputy Convener Farooq Sattar said: “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should review his decision to remove Kamran Tessori and reinstate him [as the Sindh governor]”.
Tessori, a MQM-P leader, was removed from the post last week with the government appointing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Nehal Hashmi in his place.
Following the PM’s decision to recommend Hashmi for the post, the MQM-P stated that the party was not taken into confidence by the federal government regarding the decision.
Tessori became governor in October 2022 following Imran Ismail’s departure.
Hashmi, meanwhile, after taking oath as the governor last week, said that the MQM-P remains an ally of the PML-N despite the change — the parties are coalition partners in the Centre.
Who is the new governor?
Born in Karachi on January 28, 1960, Hashmi is a prominent lawyer and a seasoned politician. He began practising law in the late 1980s and earlier founded a political organisation called the All Pakistan Youth League during his student years, according to The News.
He formally joined the PML-N in 1992 and served as adviser on law, justice and human rights to then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif from 1997 to 1999. Hashmi also played an important legal role in several high-profile cases, including those related to Nawaz and the tribunal concerning Murtaza Bhutto.
He later served as president of the PML-N Karachi in 2012 and was appointed general secretary of the party in Sindh in August 2014. Hashmi became a member of the Senate of Pakistan in March 2015 and served until February 2018.
In 2017, he was expelled from the party over a controversial statement linked to the Panama Papers case in Pakistan, but his party membership was restored in 2021.
In February 2018, he was sentenced to one month in prison and fined Rs50,000 in a contempt of court case, resulting in the termination of his Senate membership and a five-year disqualification.He was released after completing his sentence.
