ISLAMABAD, July 10: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has called for the resignation of the government following the verdict of the Supreme Court stopping the sale of the Pakistan Steel Mills at a throwaway price.

“The Supreme Court verdict has exposed the government’s failure, manipulation, corruption and abuse of power”, said the PPP chairperson in a statement here Monday.

The apex court in its landmark verdict said that the deal is “vitiated by legal violations by state functionaries, including acts of omissions and commissions and the transaction caused the government a loss of Rs18 billion”.

The former prime minister said the entire government must resign and announce a date of fresh and fair elections under a national government and an independent election commission.

“The PPP and other parties welcome the Supreme Court’s judgment”, she said and hoped that the apex court would continue to be pro-active on the issue of corruption, which was undermining the economy.

“Technically the highest court of the country has exposed the real face behind the mask of Musharraf’s so-called government, and the verdict itself must be considered as a ‘No-Confidence’ on government’s ability to perform and safeguard the assets and the future of Pakistan”. Under the NAB laws all ministers and officials involved should be arrested and prosecuted, she said.

Ms Bhutto said the Supreme Court should put a hold on entire privatisation process till the new government comes into power after the next general elections.

She said the PSM scam, the stock market crash, the sugar cartel and the land mafia demonstrated that a military dictatorship could not serve the people who were suffering hardship through unemployment and inflation.