President approves appointments of new Governors in Punjab, KP and Balochistan

President Asif Ali Zardari has accorded his approval to the appointment of Governors for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

After approval, Sardar Slaim Haider Khan has been appointed as Governor Punjab, Faisal Karim Kundi as Governor KP and Jaffar Khan Mandokhel as Governor Balochistan, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release on Saturday.

The president approved the appointments under Article 101 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Faisal Karim Kundi, who currently serves as the PPP’s information secretary, has a rich political background as he previously held the position of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013. Hailing from Dera Ismail Khan, Kundi has had a notable political career, though he faced a defeat in the past elections against the PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur.

The newly-proposed Punjab Governor Sardar Salim was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 on a PPP ticket. He hails from Tehsil Fateh Jhang from District Attock. In November 2008, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and was appointed as Minister of State for Defence Production where he served until February 2011. In June 2012, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and was appointed Minister of State for Defence where he served until March 2013. He also served as a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis during the previous government.

Newly-appointed Balochistan Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan, from May 2013 to May 2018. He was born on 26 December 1956 in Zhob District, Balochistan. He was born to Haji Saad Ullah Khan Mandokhel, the founder of SKB Engineering & Technology and a Pakistan Muslim League (Qayyum) activist, and he has three brothers, including fellow politician Humayun Khan Mandokhel, and two sisters. He has done graduation. He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) from Constituency PB-19 Zhob in 2013 Pakistani general election. He was appointed as the PML-N Balochistan president in 2023.

On Friday, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a coalition partner in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, had nominated Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi as governors of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively.

The PPP had forged an alliance with ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after February 8 general elections. According to the power-sharing deal, the PPP backed Shehbaz Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for the presidency, chairman of Senate and other important constitutional positions.

In a post on X, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had congratulated Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Kundi, and extended his good wishes to them

“I am confident they [Khan and Kundi] will perform their duties with the dignity their new office demands,” he said on X.

The Pakistan People’s Party has nominated Faisal Karim Kundi as Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sardar Saleem Haider Khan as Governor Punjab. I am confident they will preform their duties with the dignity their new office demands. I wish them both the best of luck. @fkkundi…

— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) May 3, 2024

At present, PML-N’s Balighur Rehman has been serving as the Punjab governor, while JUI-F’s Haji Ghulam Ali holds the post in KP.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had also called on PM Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Friday night, following the nominations. “During the meeting, views were exchanged on overall political situation in the country and matters of national interest,” the state media reported.