New governors for Punjab, KP & Balochistan finalised

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, the appointments of new governors for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan have been confirmed following a high-level meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Under an agreement reached between the ruling PML-N and PPP, Sardar Salim Haider has been selected as the governor of Punjab, Faisal Karim Kundi for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Jaffar Khan Mandokhel for Balochistan.

These appointments were finalised subsequent to a meeting between Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbazf, where discussions primarily revolved around the gubernatorial positions in Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

During the meeting, PM Shehbaz hosted a luncheon for Bilawal, fostering an environment conducive to deliberations on the current political landscape of Pakistan and the crucial task of appointing governors. Bilawal proposed various names for the governorships, which were ultimately endorsed by the prime minister.

Sardar Salim Haider, with prior experience as Special Assistant to the PM on Overseas Pakistanis and as Minister of State for Defence and Defence Production, was nominated for the role of Punjab’s governor.

Sardar Salim hailed from Fateh Jhang tehsil of Attock district. In the 2002 general elections, Salim ran for the provincial assembly constituency PP-18 (Attock-IV) as a PPP candidate but did not win. He secured 37,140 votes but lost to Malik Muhammad Anwar of Pakistan Muslim League (Q).

In the 2008 general elections, Salim was elected to the National Assembly from NA-59 (Attock-III) as a PPP candidate. He received 71,400 votes, defeating PML-Q’s Waseem Gulzar. Salim joined the then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s federal cabinet in November 2008 as Minister of State for Defence Production, a role he held until February 2011. He then served as Minister of State for Defence under Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf from June 2012 to March 2013.

In the 2013 elections, Salim again contested for the National Assembly from NA-59 (Attock-III) as a PPP candidate but was unsuccessful. During the previous government, Salim also served as a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis.

Faisal Karim Kundi, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly under the federal government of PPP, currently assumes the position of Secretary of Information within the party and has been designated as the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Jaffar Khan Mandokhel, known for his longstanding affiliation with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and his multiple tenures as an elected MPA, has been appointed as the governor of Balochistan. Furthermore, it was agreed that the governorship of Sindh would remain with MQM-Pakistan, with the incumbent Kamran Khan Tessori retaining his position.