Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali

Born in Baluchistan, Jamali was the first Prime Minister of Pakistan to be born in that province. He completed his primary education in Baluchistan, and his secondary education in Lahore. He obtained a master's degree from the Government College of Lahore in History.

In the 1970s he was a minister for the Pakistan People's Party, serving as an important minister in his home province. In the 1980s he worked in the government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq as a minister of various departments. He was almost appointed to the position of Prime Minister at numerous times in the 1980s, but never succeeded. However, he was the chief minister of Baluchistan at various times.

In the 1990s he was an important member of the Pakistan Muslim League. However, after the removal of Nawaz Sharif, Jamali joined the new faction of that party that was formed to support General Pervez Musharraf.

He was elected as Prime Minister by the Parliament of Pakistan on November 21, 2002 after the general elections of October 2002. This was the first general election to take place in Pakistan following the 1999 coup by General Musharraf. His election as Prime Minister came after weeks of political negotiations due to no party winning a majority. Jamali won the position after members of the Pakistan People's Party defected to the Pakistan Muslim League to support him.

As Prime Minister, he was seen as being close to President Musharraf, and supported the political and economic policies of Musharraf. Jamali oversaw a broad political coalition, and promised to work towards restoring democracy to Pakistan. However, he resigned on 26 June 2004. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain replaced him as the interim Prime Minister. The reasons for his resignation are not clear, but many have speculated that it was a result of deteriorating relations with Chaudhry Shujaat.

External link

• Profile from the BBC
• Chronicles Of Pakistan