KARACHI: Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori, better known as Kamran Tes­sori, took oath as the 34th governor of Sindh on Mon­day amid a deluge of comm­ents and criticism over the che­quered history of his poli­tical loyalties, close ties with the all-powerful establishment and his alleged role, which led to a split in the Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment-Pakistan (MQM-P) in 2018.

Mr Tessori became the governor exactly a month after MQM-P took him back into the fold, appointing him deputy convener of its coordination committee following the 2018 split.

Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmad Ali M. Sha­ikh administered the oath of office to the new incumbent in a ceremony held at the Governor’s House, which was also attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, members of the provincial cabinet, MQM-P leaders, businessmen and other city notables.

In a brief interaction with the media, Governor Tessori vowed to meet all expectations and fulfil the duties that he has been entrusted with.

“I will definitely make every possible effort to play my role as mandated by the Constitution of Pakistan. Whether it’s the problem of the province or its people, you will find me raising my voice at every relevant forum.”

An enigmatic figure, Mr Tessori came into the political limelight from the platform of the Pakistan Muslim League Functional (PML-F) when the party was a key ally of Gen Pervez Musharraf and Arbab Ghulam Rahim was the Sindh chief minister between 2004 and 2007. Despite enjoying no official status, Mr Tessori was known as an influential figure under the PML-F regime.

But he paid the price when the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came into power in 2008. Mr Tessori was booked and arrested for his suspected involvement in connection with a real estate land scam, but allegedly escaped police custody while being shifted from Karachi to Badin, which led to another case against him.

However, Mr Tessori eventually emerged clean in one case after the other, and finally resurfaced in the political arena in February 2017, when he joined the MQM-P.

Within a week of his joining, he was made a member of its coordination committee, a move that raised many eyebrows in the party.

Another surprising development came when Mr Tessori was fielded as the MQM-P candidate for the by-election of provincial assembly constituency for PS-114 Mehmoodabad, where he eventually lost to PPP’s Saeed Ghani.

He finally parted ways with the MQM-P in 2018 amid allegations that he had created a rift within the party, which had led to the expulsion of seasoned politician Dr Farooq Sattar from the party fold.

The final twist in the tale came last month when the party announced they were taking him back.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2022