KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) senior leader Nasreen Jalil is expected to appointed as the Governor of Sindh.
President Arif has reportedly received a summary to appoint Ms Nasreen Jalil as the Governor of Sindh under Section 101 of the Constitution.
The MQM-P had forwarded five names for the Sindh governorship to the prime minister for the coveted post. MQM-P senior leader Nasreen Jalil and prominent businessman Amir Chishti had emerged as the strongest candidates for the Sindh governor’s slot.
If appointed, Nasreen Jalil will become the first female governor after almost half-century in Sindh. Raana Liaquat Ali Khan, the wife of the first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan, had served as Sindh governor from 1973 to 1975.
It was learnt that MQM-P proposed the five names for the governorship including former Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar, senior party leader Amir Khan, deputy convenor Nasreen Jalil, Kishwar Zehra and Amir Chishti. The names were sent to PM Shehbaz Sharif after approval from the party’s Coordination Committee.
The MQM-P was given two federal ministries as well as the slot of Sindh governor as per the power-sharing agreement with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The governor’s seat fell vacant after President Arif Alvi accepted the resignation of Imran Ismail, who resigned from the post immediately after Shehbaz Sharif took oath as prime minister on April 11.
Nasreen Jalil was born on 22 February 1944 in Lahore. Her family were from the United Provinces (Colonial India) but had settled in Karachi.
Her father was the deputy commissioner of Lahore when Pakistan came into existence. She is the sister of promininent architect Yasmeen Lari.
Nasreen Jalil was elected to the Senate in March 1994 for a six-year term. In January 2006 she became Naib Nazim of Karachi. In the Senate election 2012, Nasreen Jalil was elected as a senator from Sindh.
