Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday reportedly sent a summary to President Dr Arif Alvi to appoint Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) nominee Nasreen Jalil as the Sindh governor. Nasreen Jalil would be the second female governor of Sindh after Begum Rana Liaqat Ali Khan and third in the history of the country.
She had previously served as a senator from March 2012 to March 2018. Sources privy to the matter said that the names sent to PM Shehbaz for approval included those of Amir Khan, Amir Chishti, Waseem Akhtar and Kishwar Zehra, besides Jalil. Nasreen Jalil was born in Lahore but she spent most of her time in Karachi. She spent her childhood in London, and went to Paris for education. Besides Urdu, she is fluent in English and French. She joined the MQM and started her political career from Karachi. She served as a senator twice.
Nasreen Jalil was then elected chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights in 1994 and 2012. During the Karachi operation, she was arrested and handed down a three-year jail term.
After spending six months in jail, she had been placed under house arrest. Her late husband, MA Jalil, was also an active leader of MQM and remained a member of provincial assembly (MPA) and cabinet member with multiple portfolios in different governments.
The office of the Sindh governor fell vacant on April 12 as PTI leader Imran Ismail tendered his resignation, hours before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took oath as the 23rd premier of Pakistan. However, President Arif Alvi accepted the resignation almost a week later. Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durani had been directed to perform the functions of the governor until the appointment of a new incumbent for the post.
