What happened
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday 12 March 2026 approved Nehal Hashmi as Sindh’s new governor, replacing Kamran Tessori on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under Articles 48 and 101 of the Constitution. Zardari signed the Commission of Appointment. Hashmi took oath on Friday 13 March before the Sindh High Court chief justice.
Tessori announced the change during an iftar dinner in Karachi, thanking the president, prime minister, Field Marshal Asim Munir, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, and provincial ministers for the “respect” he received. He framed his tenure as an “advocate for the public” rather than a “constitutional governor”, said he took no salary, and asked the incoming governor to secure the future of “50,000 IT students in the province”. MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar spoke up for Tessori; Tessori said MQM-P at the national level had not publicly defended him and he had “no complaints”.
Why it matters
The change resolves a stand-off that had been building since February. On 21 February 2026 the Sindh Bar Council passed a resolution at its 109th meeting demanding Tessori’s “immediate removal” by President Zardari, declaring that political activity at the Governor’s House violated the Constitution. Sindhi nationalist leaders accused Tessori of turning the Governor House into a platform for ethnic politics following an MQM-P event. Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon called the speeches “deeply regrettable”. Qaumi Awami Tehreek leader Ayaz Latif Palijo separately called the Governor House a “centre for hatching conspiracies against Sindh and Pakistan”.
Hashmi’s installation brings a PML-N figure back to the Governor House on the Centre’s recommendation, a shift from the MQM-P-linked Tessori era. His PML-N membership was revoked in 2017 by then PM Nawaz Sharif after Hashmi made statements critical of the judiciary at a Karachi gathering; he was convicted of contempt of court in 2018, sentenced to one month, and disqualified by the Supreme Court from public office for five years. He served as a PML-N senator from 2015 to 2021. The Sindh government announced 13 March a public holiday throughout the province except essential services, framed by Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah as connected to Jummatul Wida, giving the governor’s first full day in office a religious-observance backdrop.
What is still uncertain
Three questions remain open. First, the timing of Hashmi’s first engagements with the MQM-P, which supplied the previous governor and was visibly divided over the change. Second, the legal status of Hashmi’s 2018 contempt-of-court conviction and whether any procedural step was needed before his reappointment. Third, the political cost: Sindhi nationalist parties that accused Tessori of ethnic politics have not publicly reacted to the PML-N appointment that replaced him.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 13 March 2026.
- The Express Tribune — "President signs off on Centre's move to replace Tessori with Nehal Hashmi as Sindh governor"Published 12 Mar 2026 · The full primary report on the appointment: President's House statement, PM Office Media Wing confirmation, Ishaq Dar's tweet of the Urdu summary, outgoing governor Kamran Tessori's iftar remarks, Sindh Bar Council's 21 February removal demand, MQM-P and QAT political reactions, Hashmi's 2017 PML-N revocation and 2018 contempt-of-court conviction.
- Dawn — "Sindh announces public holiday on March 13"Published 12 Mar 2026 · Same-day Sindh government action: the provincial holiday notification for 13 March covering all government offices, autonomous bodies, semi-autonomous bodies, corporations and local councils except essential services, plus Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah's statement that the holiday was for Jummatul Wida. Provides editorially independent confirmation of the broader Sindh government activity on the same day as the governor change.
