The announcement by the Islamist party Jamiat Ulema Islam leaves the coalition with just a small majority in the National Assembly and threatens the stability of the weak civilian government whose cooperation is critical to America’s efforts in neighboring Afghanistan.
JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said his party was leaving because one of its ministers was fired after a scandal involving government organized pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.
“JUI is leaving the government from today ... our decision is final,” Rehman said.
That will leave President Asif Ali Zardari’s government with less leverage to push through key legislation. The JUI, for instance, said it will oppose a plan to pass a new sales tax that the government says would bring much needed revenue to the cash-strapped nation.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani fired two members of the Cabinet on Tuesday over the pilgrimage scandal. One was the religious affairs minister and the other, a member of JUI heading the ministry for science and technology."
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