Fazl no more with govt

PM sacks Swati, Kazmi over verbal bout

l Kazmi put on ECL as evidences found l FIA proposes to freeze Kazmi’s accounts

l Khursheed Shah gets Ministry of Religious Affairs with additional charge of Labour & Manpower
l Shahabuddin receives Defence Production portfolio with additional charge of Health Ministry
l Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali given IT Ministry with additional charge of Minister for Education

Special Correspondent/ Agencies

ISLAMABAD: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) has parted its way with the coalition federal government in protest against sacking of its minister Azam Swati from the Cabinet by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. PM Gilani Tuesday sacked Ministers for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi and Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati from their offices.

Though PM House statement did not mention any reasons, it is believed that Kazmi was fired as serious allegations of corruption in the Hajj this year were leveled against him, while there seem to be no reason why Swati was sacked, other than he entered verbal bout with minister of Religious Affairs Hamid Kazmi, blaming him for corruption in Hajj operations.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur Rehman told reporters that his party decided to quit the alliance with PPP-led government after PM Gilani sacked JUI-F minister Swati.
“We were cooperating with the government under reconciliation policy, but now it’s impossible for us to stay in coalition after Gilani’s one-sided decision to sack Azam Swati,” he told reporters.
“We are saying goodbye to the government” Fazl announced after chairing an emergency meeting of Majlis-e-Shura (advisory council) of the party.
JUI-F chief said party will follow the same policy in the National Assembly as it adopted in the Senate in relation to RGST.
He said their decision was final and they would not rejoin the government.
He, however, mentioned that his faction will not leave parliamentary committees, on the grounds that the bodies belong to the National Assembly.
JUI-F’s Maulana Shirani will remain the chairman of Islamic Ideological Council. To a query about quitting the coalition government in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the JUI-F chief said “such decisions will be taken in future.” He expressed regret over Swati’s removal “without any reason.”
“Swati cooperated with the government over the Hajj scandal despite the fact that there was no allegation on him.”
“He even wrote letters to prime minister and President Zardari and also answered questions in several cabinet meetings but a unilateral decision was taken against him.” Two more federal ministers from the JUI-F Maulana Fazl-ur Rehman’s brother Maulana Ata-ur Rahman, which is minister for tourism and federal housing & works Minister Rehmat Ullah Karar – have reportedly sent their resignations to the PM. Meanwhile, PM Gilani has appointed Syed Khursheed Shah as Minister for Religious Affairs. He has been given additional charge of Minister for Labour and Manpower, the spokesman said.

Posted in: Pakistani News,World News