PML-N nominates Jaffar Khan Mandokhail for Balochistan governor slot

• Jaffar Khan Mandokhail says he is grateful to Nawaz Sharif. 
• Says he will play role as bridge between province, Centre. 
• He will replace Abdul Wali Kakar as Balochistan governor.

QUETTA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), under an agreement reached with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), on Friday named party leader Jaffar Khan Mandokhail for the slot of Balochistan's governor. 

Speaking to Geo News, Mandokhail, who is the president of the PML-N’s provincial chapter, said that he was grateful to party supremo Nawaz Sharif for nominating him for the prestigious office. 

"I will serve the country and the nation as a governor and will play the role of a bridge between the province and the Centre," said the PML-N leader. 

Mandokhail will replace Abdul Wali Kakar, who is a leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) and has been serving as the province's governor since March 2023.

Earlier, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominated two loyalists as Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors.

It is pertinent to mention here that after the Feb 8 polls, PML-N and PPP agreed to form a coalition at the Centre wherein the latter, agreed to support the former in government formation after none of the two parties managed to secure a simple majority in the lower house.

Following several rounds of talks held between both sides, it had been decided that the PPP would get various constitutional posts including Punjab and KP governors along with the office of the president, as well as the Senate chairmanship and National Assembly's deputy speakership.

Under the deal, the two parties formed a coalition government in Balochistan with the PPP getting the chief minister's slot while the PML-N was allotted the governorship.

Jaffar Khan Mandokhail's profile

Mandokhail was born on December 26, 1956, in Quetta. He did his matriculation from St Francis Grammar School and masters from Balochistan University.

He entered into politics in 1974 through student politics and was also the president of MSF.

The politician first contested the election from Zhob on a provincial seat on the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid's (PML-Q) ticket in 1988.

He also served as the education minister from 1990 to 1993, finance minister from 1993 to 1996 and home minister from 1997 to 1999.

In 2002, Mandokhail contested the polls on PML-Q's ticket and won. Moreover, after his win in the 2013 elections, he was assigned the portfolio of three departments — Board of Revenue, Excise and Transport.

He contested the 2018 elections on PML-N's ticket but was defeated by Balochistan Awami Party's (BAP) candidate Mitha Khan.

In the 2024 elections, he contested on PML-N's ticket from his Zhob constituency but was defeated by a Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) candidate. 

PPP names Saleem, Kundi for Punjab, KP governor slots

On Friday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari named two senior party leaders — Sardar Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi — for the key positions of Punjab and KP governorship.

Haider — a PPP loyalist — belongs to Punjab’s Attock district who also served as a former federal minister and prime minister’s aide for overseas Pakistanis in the previous tenure of the PML-N government.

Additionally, the politician is also the president of the Bilawal-led party’s Rawalpindi division.

Saleem will replace Governor Baligh Ur Rehman — a senior PML-N leader who assumed the office on May 30, 2022.

Meanwhile, PPP's Kundi, who has been nominated for the KP governor's slot, is expected to take oath today, sources told Geo News.