Muhammad Khan Junejo

Muhammad Khan Junejo
11th Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 24 March 1985 – 29 May 1988
President	Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Preceded by	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Succeeded by	Benazir Bhutto
Born	18 August 1932 Sindhri, Tharparkar, Sindh, British India
Died	March 16 1993 (aged 60) Islamabad, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Muslim League
Religion	Shia Islam

Muhammad Khan Junejo (Urdu/Sindhi: محمد خان جونیجو ) (born August 18, 1932 – died March 16, 1993) was the eleventh Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Early Life

He was born at Sindhri in Sanghar of Sindh. After completing his senior Cambridge, he went to UK for a diploma in Agriculture. Junejo started his political career at the age of twenty one. In 1962, he was elected Member Provincial Assembly, West Pakistan from Sanghar. He was appointed Minister in the West Pakistan cabinet in July 1963 and held the portfolios of Health, Basic Democracies and Local Government, Works, Communications and Railways.

Prime Minister

After partyless polls were held for the national and provincial assemblies in 1985, Muhammad Khan Junejo was appointed Prime Minister by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. To his credit, Junejo had stood up to Zia on several issues during his term as prime minister, including the issue of the signing of the Geneva Accords to end the fighting in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. Zia didn’t want Pakistan to sign the accords until after the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan but Junejo had instructed his minister of state for foreign affairs to sign them anyway. Zia was furious, but had bided his time before moving against Junejo. That time came soon after the Ojhri Camp blasts of April 1988. The Ojhri Camp ordinance depot in Rawalpindi was being used to supply US-financed arms and ammunition to the Afghan mujahideen to fight the Soviets. The government ordered an inquiry into the blasts. Junejo made a statement in the National Assembly promising to place the findings of the inquiry before the House. That was the last straw as far as Zia was concerned, and Junejo was dismissed on May 29, 1988 by the President using discretionary powers given under the 8th amendment. All Assemblies were immediately dissolved, and mostly military cabinet members (most prominently as General Rahimuddin Khan) were called to form an interim government.

Member of National Assembly

Muhammad Khan Junejo was elected member of the National Assembly in 1990, and died of a serious illness in 1993.

External links

• Chronicles Of Pakistan
• Ohjri Camp Explosion and its effect on Pakistan