ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Ittefaq group have been absolved ‘of all charges of illegal dealings in the Rs 20 billion cooperatives scandal by an inquiry commission, ‘whose report has been released by the Pakistan government,

The brief extracts of the two volume report of the commission, headed by a Supreme Court judge, Justice Mohammad Afzal Lone, submitted to the law minister on “March 7, pertained only to the Portion relating to Sharif, the interior minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and some opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders.

Only 45 pages out of the 866 page report were released. The rest were being compiled in the shape ‘of a book which would be released in due course, the federal law secretary Justice Bhasnul Haq told reporters.

Meanwhile in a surprise move, Pakistan federal minister for communication Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi was Wednesday night dropped from the Nawaz Sharif cabinet apparently in the wake of the alliance formed by his father and former caretaker Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi with the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Sindh.

The Pakistan television in late night broadcast said that the federal communication minister had been asked to give up his office. Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi according to reports reaching here from Karachi, the capital of Sindh, had formed an alliance with the PPP, led by Benazir Bhutto, in Sindh soon after the death of chief minister of the southern province Jam Sadiq Ali earlier this month. ‘Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi’s national people’s party which was part of the ruling Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (BI) at the center had been described as a part of ruling alliance in Sindh by Sindh chief minister ‘Muzzafar Hussain Shah at his first press conference in Islamabad Wednesday afternoon after having taken over the top job.

Observers had questioned the role of the national people’s pany in Sindh soon after reports about is joining hands with the PPP came in.

‘The PPP Jatoi alliance had extended unanimous support for the election of Muzzafar Hussain Shah as the chief minister of Sindh.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 20, 1992