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| Death of a veteran |
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Sunday, November 22, 2009
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, one of the men who have figured prominently on the Pakistan political scene since the 1950s, passed away in London at the age of 78. His death marks the continuation of the inevitable process of the handing over of the reins of political leadership from the old guard to the new. There are questions over some of the late Mr Jatoi’s acts, as they indeed are over those of almost any politician who serves a long stint. There are those who say he failed to do enough following the arrest in 1977 of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or to subsequently stand by his daughter. Like others during that turbulent era of the 1980s, Mr Jatoi also changed political loyalties switching from one camp to the other.
But there are some things that stand above this. As Sindh chief minister a few years after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto swept to power in the 1970 elections and later as caretaker prime minister for some months in 1990, Mr Jatoi was known for acting with the kind of competence and integrity we so badly lack today. He was able to work towards national reconciliation on several key occasions. He was also a true patriot, willing to serve his country to the end. His loss is a sad one; all the more so given that we lack leaders able to step into his shoes.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
