Governor Sindh Ibad’s era ends after 14 years

Surprising news as Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad removed from his post and Former chief justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui is to replace Ishratul Ibad as the Governor of Sindh.

The overnight unexpected decision came after the meeting between  Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain in Islamabad on Wednesday. A notification has been issued in this regard.

Saeed Uz Zaman Siddiqui is very old, almost the age of Qaim Ali Shah former Chief Minister Sindh, it is unclear whether dummy Governor will be placed as the president, because PPP shared the reservation on this decision.

Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui was Chief Justice of Pakistan during the 1999 military coup by General (r) Pervez Musharraf. He defied the request given by Musharraf via the Law Minister and Legal Advisor Pirzada to take a new oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) saying that “taking oath under the PCO, in my opinion, will be a deviation from the oath I had taken to defend the constitution of 1973”.

As a consequence of this, Musharraf forced him to step down from his position. The tenure time period was shortened due to his refusal to  take the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) Oath, prescribed by Musharraf.

On 25 August 2008, Nawaz Sharif announced that Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui would be Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Jamaat-e-Islami nominee to replace Pervez Musharraf as President of Pakistan.

He lost the 6 September 2008 Pakistani presidential election, 2008, by 159 votes to Asif Ali Zardari, who was elected President of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has objected to the appointment of a fresh governor of Sindh on Wednesday by saying that the political organisation should have been consulted with.

Maula Bakhsh Chandio – Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister (CM) on Information – praised Dr Ishratul Ibad and said that the Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s attitude was that of a ‘king’ and that he did not cater to smaller provinces. He accused the premier of being interested in palaces and states, not democracy.

Chandio objected to the attitude of the federation towards provinces and termed it harmful for it in the long run. Earlier today it was reported that former chief justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui is expected to replace Dr Ibad as the governor of Sindh.

The decision was taken during a meeting between PM Nawaz and President Mamnoon Hussain in Islamabad on Wednesday. However, the cabinet division sources told that its members have not been informed of the replacement yet.