ISLAMABAD: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday nominated two senior party leaders for the posts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab governors as part of the deal reached with PML-N before joining the coalition government.

In Balochistan, Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, president of the PML-N’s provincial chapter, has been appointed the new governor, according to sources.

Sardar Saleem Haider, a PPP leader from Rawalpindi and Faisal Karim Kundi from Dera Ismail Khan have been nominated for the top constitutional offices in Punjab and KP, respectively.

Soon after the nominations, Mr Bhutto-Zardari called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the PM House, and informed him about the decision.

A source in the PM Office said it was a one-on-one meeting between the two leaders in which the issue of governors of the two provinces came under discussion.

PML-N’s Mandokhail appointed new governor of Balochistan

The PM has reportedly assured the PPP chairman that he will soon send the summaries regarding the governors’ appointment to President Asif Ali Zardari who’d give the final approval.

Presently, PML-N leader Balighur Rehman was the Punjab governor, while JUI-F’s Haji Ghulam Ali was serving at the same post in KP.

New Balochistan governor

According to sources, PM Sharif had sent the summary of Mr Mandokhail’s appointment to President Zardari after the approval of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

When contacted by Dawn, Mr Mandokhail also confirmed the development. He will replace Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar, the BNP-M leader who was appointed to the post in 2022.

Bilawal meets nominees PPP sources told Dawn that the PPP chairman held meetings with the two nominated governors in Islamabad and Karachi.

Mr Haider, who has the image of an accessible party leader in his area, met the PPP chairman at Zardari House in Islamabad.

Mr Kundi, who is also the PPP information secretary, was not in the federal capital and later flew to Karachi to meet the party chairman.

Although the PPP was not directly a part of the government — as it refused to get any federal ministry — the party did vote for PM Shehbaz and Speaker Ayaz Sadiq in the National Assembly.

After the Feb 8 elections, the PPP and PML-N — with the support of other parties — agreed on a cooperation mechanism to form a government in the Centre. As part of the deal, the PPP, for its support, would get some key constitutional positions.

The posts of president, Senate chairman and National Assembly deputy speaker have already gone to the party as part of the deal. The PML-N has also agreed to appoint PPP leaders as governors of two out of four provinces.

In Sindh, Kamran Tessori, a leader of MQM-P — one of the coalition parties in the federal government — was serving as the governor. According to a source, the PML-N was backing the Karachi-based businessman Mirza Ishtiaq Baig for the office of Sindh governor.

However, the removal of Mr Tessori would be tough as it might affect MQM-P’s support for the PML-N-led federal government. Therefore, some believed that Mr Tessori would continue to serve as the Sindh governor during the current government.

Saudi investors

In a separate development, a high-powered business and investment delegation of Saudi Arabia would arrive in Pakistan next week, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told Dawn.

The prime minister also chaired a high-level meeting on Friday to review the progress on Saudi investment and projects and directed the authorities to accord warm hospitality to the delegation.

Meeting with GPEI team

The prime minister also met with a delegation of Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), led by Dr Christopher Elias, the chair of Polio Oversight Board and president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Division.

The PM said his government was fully resolved to eradicate the disease and directed the Ministry of Information to launch a joint awareness drive in collaboration with the GPEI. He said the Pakis­tan-Afghanistan cooperation was necessary to eradicate polio from the region.

The delegation also apprised the prime minister about the ongoing measures for polio eradication.

Saleem Shahid in Quetta also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2024