Pak minister blasts Army,sacked

A Pak minister has been forced to resign after PM took serious notice of his comments criticising the Army.

A Pakistani minister has been forced to resign after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani took serious notice of his comments criticising the Army and the Judiciary and calling for everyone to get a share of the benefits of corruption.

Addressing a news conference in the southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday,Minister of State for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Jatoi accused the Army of targeting unarmed people instead of defending the countrys borders.

Jatoi also accused the Army of killing several high-profile Pakistani figures,including ethnic Baluch tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Jatoi,who belongs to the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party,alleged that Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry belonged to Punjab but had resorted to unfair means to be appointed to the superior judiciary from the quota for Baluchistan.

He also contended that everyone should have an equal right to corruption. Replying to a question,he said everyone,including Sindhis,Pashtuns,Baluchis,Seraikis and Punjabis,should get a share of the benefits of corruption.

Jatoi repeatedly urged the media to report his comments. Within hours,Gilani took serious notice of Jatois statements and summoned the minister to Islamabad to explain his remarks.

After meeting with Gilani late Saturday, Jatoi submitted his resignation. Jatois remarks came at a time when the PPP-led government is under pressure to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government has also had to contend with speculation about an Army intervention due to its inept handling of floods.

Story continues below this ad

Asked about a possible Army intervention,Jatoi said,Let them come,we dont fear the boots. We fought them for 60 years. We provided them uniforms and boots not so that they can take away our rights and kill our people and leaders. We have the Army to fight on the borders and not with unarmed people.

Jatoi said former President Pervez Musharraf,former premier Mir Zafarullah Jamali and former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao were involved in the killing of Baluch leader Bugti.