ISLAMABAD, June 13: The opposition on Monday called upon the government to sack Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad after disclosure that he had kept receiving 1,000 British pounds aid from the UK government for ten months after assuming the office. The issue was raised by the opposition in both the Senate and the National Assembly during debate on the federal budget for financial year 2005-06.

Khwaja Asif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (Nawaz) was the first to raise the issue in the Senate, saying it was a matter of shame that the Sindh governor continued to receive aid from the UK government after assuming the office.

Defending the governor, federal Minister for Communications Shamim Siddiqi said that Dr Ibad had already returned the amount to the British government, which he had been receiving as an allowance since 1993 when he took political asylum in the UK.

He said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other leaders, who were living abroad, had taken money from the country with them, but Dr Ibad had left with empty hands.

Liaquat Baloch of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) said that the minister had only explained why the UK government gave Dr Ibad the allowance. He added the issue was that the Sindh governor continued to receive it even after assuming the office.