Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was a prominent Pakistani politician who served as the Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan. He held this high office for three months between 6 August 1990 and 6 November 1990.

Early life and education

Jatoi was born on 14 August 1931 in New Jatoi, located within the Naushehro Feroze District of Sindh. He belonged to a Sindhi family where political service was a tradition. His grandfather, Khan Bahadur Imam Bux Khan Jatoi, served as a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly during 1923, 1927 and 1931. At that time, only four members represented the entire present Province of Sindh.

His father, Ghulam Rasool Jatoi, was a member of the Sindh Legislative Assembly in both 1946 and 1952. Jatoi attended Karachi Grammar School before he passed his senior Cambridge examinations. He traveled to England in 1952 to pursue his bar at law. However, he returned home within one year because his father suffered a serious illness.

Career

Jatoi began his political journey early and was elected to the first Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan in 1956. He previously served as the chairman of the District Board of Nawabshah District in 1952. This role earned him the distinction of being the youngest District Board chairman in South Asia.

In 1967, he helped found the Pakistan Peoples Party alongside Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He remained one of the closest confidants to Bhutto until the execution of Bhutto in 1979. During the federal government led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Jatoi held several portfolios. These included Political Affairs, Ports and Shipping, Communications, Petroleum and Natural Resources, Information Technology, and Railways & Telecommunications.

He was elected Chief Minister of Sindh in 1973 and remained in that position until 1977. This tenure makes him the longest serving Chief Minister of Sindh since the birth of Pakistan. Following the imposition of Martial Law, he participated in the Movement for Restoration of Democracy. He faced arrest twice during the years 1983 and 1985.

Jatoi eventually formed his own political party in 1986, which used a tractor as its emblem. This group was known as the National Peoples Party. He also acted as the Founder President of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) in 1988. He was elected to the National Assembly in 1962, 1965, 1970, 1989, 1990, 1993 and 1997.

After President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the Benazir Bhutto government, Jatoi was appointed Prime Minister. He later joined an opposition movement against the Nawaz Sharif government, which resulted in that administration's dismissal in 1993. His party, the NPP, served as a coalition partner in the Benazir Bhutto government until 1996. In the 2002 general election, he chaired the National Alliance. This group won 16 seats in the National Assembly and 16 seats in the Sindh Assembly.

Personal life

Jatoi was the eldest of four brothers. His political legacy continued through his children, who achieved a record by serving in all three legislative forums simultaneously. His son Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi won the NA-211 Naushahro Feroze-I seat in the 2008 election. Another son, Arif Mustafa Jatoi, served as the Food and Agriculture Minister and won the PS-19 seat. His third son, Masroor Jatoi, won the PS-23 seat. The youngest son is Senator Asif Mustafa Jatoi.

Jatoi died in London on 20 November 2009. He passed away at the age of 78 after a protracted illness.