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After leaving Petaro, Liaquat Jatoi completed his
Intermediate and then joined the University of
Sindh. He acquired a Masters in Political Science
in 1970.
He belongs to a landlord family from Dadu where he
has his ancestral home. The family has large land
holdings in Dadu District. His family has been in
politics, and therefore he too entered the
political arena.
Liaquat Jatoi was first elected
in 1977 to the
National Assembly of Pakistan. However within
a few weeks of the elections,
the assemblies were dissolved after the coup by
Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. When
Gen. Zia-ul-Haq formed
the Federal Council (Majlis-e-Shoora),
Liaquat Jatoi was inducted as a Member of the
Council in
1980-81.
In later years, Liaquat Jatoi participated in the elections of
1985, 1990 and 1997. He was elected to the
Sindh Provincial Assembly in
all three elections as a Member. In
1990, he was appointed the
Sindh Provincial Minister for
Finance, Excise and Taxation.
This was the beginning of his alliance with
Pakistan Muslim League headed by
Nawaz Sharif.
When the PML won the 1997
elections, Liaquat Jatoi
was chosen as the
Chief Minister of Sindh. He served in this
position until the end of October 1998, when
Governor’s Rule was imposed in Sindh due to the
law and order situation.
Jatoi
won seats in the Sindh
Provincial Assembly as well as the
National Assembly of Pakistan
during the 2002 elections. He chose to become an
MNA and was inducted
into the Federal Cabinet as a Minister. Initially
he held the portfolio of Minister of Industries,
and was later on made the Minister for Water and
Power. During this period, Jatoi joined the pro-Pervez
Musharraf
Pakistan Muslim League (Q). He remained a key
ally of President
Pervez Musharraf throughout his
tenure.
Liaquat Jatoi lost the 2008
elections at all levels, and became a victim of
the growing unpopularity of the Musharraf regime.
When
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December
2007, the people of his own
Dadu District burnt down his home.
He presently has his homes in Karachi and Dadu.
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