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Federal minister Zahid Hamid tenders resignation

Dawn.comPublishedNovember 21, 2014

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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister Zahid Hamid Khan on Friday tendered his resignation from his position of Minister for Science and Technology.

Sources told Dawn that Hamid confirmed his resignation which is pending with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for approval.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who also confirmed Zahid's resignation, said the premier is yet to accept it.

Dar said the court's decision is majority but not with consensus.

"Detailed reaction would be issued after fully examining the court's verdict by the government," he said.

He dismissed speculation that Hamid's resignation came in the wake of the inclusion of his name in the charge sheet for high treason against former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

Hamid was law minister at the time Musharraf had imposed a state of emergency in the country.

Earlier today, a special court trying Musharraf for treason directed the government to add Hamid's name to the charge sheet.

Take a look:Special court partially okays trial of Musharraf's abettors

Political career

Hamid was born on October 24, 1947 in Lahore. He completed his BA Honours and MA from Cambridge University UK and LLB degree from Punjab University.

He is a lawyer by profession and has been a civil servant and an industrialist with legislative interests in environment, finance and law.

Following Musharraf's military takeover in 1999, Hamid defected to the breakaway faction of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) called the Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q) and was elected MNA from NA-114, Sialkot-V in the 2002 election.

Hamid had held the portfolio of law minister in the Musharraf government and was said to be a close aide of the former army strongman. Before the 2008 elections, he joined the PML-N.

Following the PML's victory in the May 2013 general election, Hamid was assigned the law ministry’s portfolio which was later withdrawn after filing of a petition seeking his trial along with Musharraf for high treason since he was the law minister in the former president's cabinet as well. He was subsequently allocated the portfolio of science and technology.

— Abdul Shakoor Khan, Iftikhar Abbas Sherazi and Mateen Haider contributed to reporting

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Comments (29) Closed

Nov 21, 2014 03:22pm

Is it high moral values or early escape?

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Sudhanshu Swami

Nov 21, 2014 03:33pm

Thank God he is not our beloved Lal Topi Wala one, Else Half of Indians might have trapped into tension due to non availability of humor.

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Ismaile

Nov 21, 2014 03:38pm

i don't get this guy graduated from Cambridge but still is corrupt education is supposed to make a person

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Imran Khan

Nov 21, 2014 03:51pm

Good decision from PMLN leader who cares for his respect unlike the sharif brothers!!!!

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PinkPeacock

Nov 21, 2014 03:54pm

An excellent man - competent, honest and patriotic. Paying the price for making an error of judgement by joining Musharraf. Life is like that!

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Indian Christian

Nov 21, 2014 04:03pm

Internal war among Pakistani bureaucrats is a continuous story. No unity among them.

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Muhammad Chaudhry

Nov 21, 2014 04:20pm

This is good development. In future people will think twice before joining the dictator. However there will be many opportunist who will always be ready unfortunately. But all east some body with little better sense and morality will not consider it a nazria e zaroorat

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syed wasim haider

Nov 21, 2014 04:27pm

The best option for NS is to call an All Party Conference and closed the this chapter with consensus. Although this should have been done earlier which at that time would have been more graceful. Mr. NS , remember forgiveness is always a best option especially when u have lot of weaknesses such as bad governance, non transparent deals, no coordination within the party and even in the cabinet etc. etc.

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Anarchist

Nov 21, 2014 04:36pm

NS claims he hates dictatorship and then welcomes almost all of those who served Musharaff, even dishing out ministries and other high offices to them. No contradiction? Looks and sounds so funny.

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Parvez

Nov 21, 2014 04:45pm

Is this an hunourable action........or a guilty conscience ?

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Proud Pakistani

Nov 21, 2014 04:51pm

A lawyer is the minister of Science and Technology.........Y oh y???????

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Zaheer Hassan

Nov 21, 2014 04:52pm

What a Weird situation. Nawaz Sharif was trying General Pervez Musharraf for treason while rewarding his law minister, Zahid Hamid with a cabinet position.

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muhammad yasin

Nov 21, 2014 06:22pm

Lust for power at any price and culture of opportunism is embedded in psychology of inheritors of colonial mentality.In this persuit,there is no concept of conscience and personal dignity.In this welter of degradation,all educational qualifications and professional competencies becomes irrelevant.

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muhammed Ali

Nov 21, 2014 06:30pm

This lota deserves all he gets.

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Imran

Nov 21, 2014 06:37pm

Honorable man? as some have called him. Have you seen his constituency's state of affairs? He wins from there almost every time and nothing happens. Go visit the areas outside Sialkot where he wins from. The people and place keeps getting worse in every facet. Yet nothing matter to him or the likes of him. He is a graduate from the Cambridge, so shame on him even more than other politicization who are suppose to be illiterate. .

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muhammed Ali

Nov 21, 2014 06:40pm

@Muhammad Chaudhry My brother the person you are calling a dictator was much more democratic than these so called democratic parties.....what is democratic about NS and his party? Nothing but dictatorship used by NS & Co....Musharraf is the only person who has ever held his hand up and say "I made mistakes" just for that he is a great man.

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Junaid

Nov 21, 2014 06:46pm

what a LOTA. Going with the party in power. Also how funny it is that one person a lawyer by profession can run both law and science and technology ministries which are 2 totally opposite entities. This can only happen in Pakistan. No wonder we have no law and order nor any science and technology.

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Key Points

Nov 21, 2014 07:03pm

Initial sign of a sinking ship? Why people jumping off the ship?

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fida sayani

Nov 21, 2014 07:10pm

Pakistan is full of turncoat politician from its inception and that is the tragedy of Pakistan. Non of the politician after Jinnah believed in the integrity or had any moral character, all of them believed in their own position in the country and they were always on SALE.

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Blister

Nov 21, 2014 07:10pm

@PinkPeacock Dont forget he has a longer history of error of judgement......he supported the Shareef Regime as well. No nice thing about this lota mate!!

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fida sayani

Nov 21, 2014 07:13pm

@Ismaile Education does not bring moral character in a person. Morals in the individuals comes from the family they grow in.Only one man comes tall in Pakistan and that gentleman was Mr. Jinnah. all others were corrupt in their own little surroundings.

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Blister

Nov 21, 2014 07:22pm

There is an old saying....When a ship is sinking the rats are the first to get off!! The Shareef ship is on its way.....

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Husain Jan

Nov 21, 2014 08:18pm

Earlier removed from the post of law minister and then made minister for science / technology. What does such things suggest regarding PML-N policy ? That the man had to be obliged with any ministry, why so ? Is it that there was no other person capable for the ministry of science, other than this man Zahid Hamid. Moreover, since Nawaz league is not at ease with Mush so all the more deplorable to allot ministry to a person who had been loyal to Mush. What a way to go for our rulers !!!

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Sajid

Nov 21, 2014 08:19pm

@Parvez Its a Drama.

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Mohammad Iqbal

Nov 21, 2014 08:21pm

Graduating from Oxford or cambridge does not make a person a gentleman.

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Just Someone

Nov 21, 2014 08:28pm

The only good thing about this episode is that there is at least one person willing to resign for being nominated in a case.

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ali

Nov 21, 2014 09:12pm

Quite a few people close to NS were with Musharaff before. If Musharaff was a bad guy and is being tried for treason then why has NS taken Musharaff`s allies into his cabinet, and a sadvisors,it means NS could not find better persons.As such it also proves that the cases against Musharaff are for revenge purposes.

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Mustafa

Nov 21, 2014 09:53pm

Is he on the ECL? I hope he doesn't choose to flee

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Muhammad Chaudhry

Nov 22, 2014 12:55pm

@muhammed Ali , Thank you dear for your comments. Who is responsible for failed cargil episode which was the root cause of dispute between him & NS?? Who brought corrupt and fake degree holders in parliament?? Who slaughtered 40 people in Karachi during so called democratic tenure of Musharaff?? Who put judiciary under house arrest?? Who closed many tv channels ?? My brother the dictator can not be a democratic.We are again and again selecting PML-N and PPP to run the Government because our establishment is always busy to keep them weak and throw out of power after 2 years. They are getting elected going to people that they were not given the full chance.Last tenure the PPP was given full term and the people completely rejected them. credit goes to NS for this. Please let NS complete 5 years then the people of Pakistan will decide his fate.

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