Former caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi breathed his last at St Mary's Hospital in London on Friday, he was 78. According to private TV channels, he had been suffering from a protracted illness. Jatoi was the chief of National People's Party. Jatoi joined PPP in 1969 and was elected MNA in 1970 on a PPP ticket. He remained Sindh chief minister from 1973 to 1975. He was caretaker prime minister in 1990 for three months.

His body will be brought to Pakistan on Monday from UK by a special flight and burial will be held at New Jatoi, district Naushehro Feroz. Born on 14 August 1931, Jatoi was a renowned politician. He was the eldest of four brothers, and his grandfather, Khan Bahadur Imam Bux Khan Jatoi, was a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1923, 1927 and 1931. At that time there were only 4 members representing the entire Province of Sindh.

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was the Founder President of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) formed in 1988. In 1989, he was elected to the National Assembly in by-elections from Kot Addu. Jatoi was subsequently elected leader of the combined opposition parties in the National Assembly in 1989. Jatoi was appointed caretaker Prime Minister after the dismissal of the Benazir government. Jatoi joined hands with the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in launching a movement against the Sharif government, resulting in its dismissal in 1993.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2009