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Pakistani PM resigns, dissolves cabinet
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-26 23:30 Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali
announced his resignation and the dissolution of his Cabinet on Saturday, ending
months of speculation that his relationship with the country's military ruler
was strained.
The leader of the ruling party, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, was nominated to
replace Jamali.
Pakistan's Prime
Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, seen in this undated file photo taken in
Muzaffarabad, resigned Saturday June 26, 2004 , two senior officials told
The Associated Press, following months of speculation that his
relationship with the country's military ruler was strained.
[AP/File] | "I resigned from my post as prime
minister today," Jamali told reporters after a gathering of the PML-Q party.
Jamali said he hoped the decision would help the nation's political process,
but did not elaborate.
Hussain is all but certain to win the necessary vote of confidence in
parliament, where the ruling party enjoys a commanding majority. A vote was
expected within days.
Observers say Musharraf, who met earlier Saturday with Jamali, had grown
impatient at Jamali's inability to rein in opposition lawmakers and effectively
defend the government's approach.
The move was unlikely to have a significant impact on foreign policy,
including Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism and tentative
peace talks with India. But it raised fresh concern about the country's return
to democracy.
As recently as Friday, Jamali had sought to quash rumors that he was on his
way out and that his relationship with Musharraf had chilled. Jamali and
Musharraf met earlier Saturday.
Liaqat Baluch, an opposition lawmaker, accused Musharraf of trying to ensure
that no strong political rival can emerge.
"They stoked the fire around Jamali and then pushed him into it," said
Baluch, a member of the six-party religious coalition opposed to Musharraf. "The
military rulers want to maintain their supremacy so that no political government
is stable."
Under powers granted in constitutional amendments, Musharraf has the
power to dismiss Jamali and Parliament if he chooses. The two men met earlier
Saturday, but the prime minister said he stepped down rather than be fired.
One of the country's most-seasoned politicians, Jamali became prime minister
in November 2002 after the PML-Q, which supports Musharraf, won the most seats
in elections the month before.
His appointment helped ease concerns in the West about the rise to prominence
of ultraconservative religious parties. But those worries flared anew last month
when Maulana Fazlur Rahman, a pro-Taliban cleric, became leader of the
opposition.
But he also drew stiff criticism from Pakistan's two other major political
parties — the PML-N and the Pakistan People's Party.
Both parties' leaders are in exile, embittering a political climate heated by
a string of assassinations of politicians as well as sectarian violence and
deadly fighting between the Pakistani Army and al-Qaeda militants near the
Afghan border.
On Saturday, gunmen riding a motorcycle sprayed a car carrying Bin Yamin
Rizvi, a local PML-N leader, with bullets in the eastern city of Lahore, killing
him along with his driver and bodyguard.
Lahore police chief Tariq Saleem said he had no leads on who was behind the
attack.
But party spokesman Sadique al-Farooq condemned the assassination and blamed
Musharraf for "failing to keep law and order."
Two members of the Pakistan People's Party have been killed in the southern
city of Karachi this year.
Musharraf has endorsed a constitutional amendment that theoretically would
force him to quit as chief of the armed forces on Jan. 1, 2005. He would remain
as civilian president until his term expires in 2007.
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