KARACHI, Dec 23: Sindh Agriculture Minister Arif Jatoi has resigned from the cabinet. An official handout said Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, elder brother of Arif Jatoi, on Thursday called on Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and submitted his brother's resignation.

Murtaza Jatoi, according to the handout, told the chief minister that his brother Arif Mustafa had resigned for personal reasons and in his place the Jatoi family had offered his (Murtaza Jatoi's) services to the chief minister. "I would accept the responsibilities as an Adviser, if offered," Murtaza Jatoi said, according to the handout.

Sources in the government confirmed that Arif Jatoi would be replaced by his elder brother Murtaza Jatoi who would be inducted as adviser to the chief minister with the status of a minister. The matter, they said, had already been sorted out by the elder Jatoi, former prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi.

The sources said the development could be a precursor to a major change in Sindh. The power brokers, they said, had been looking for some time for a suitable person who could replace Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and would be acceptable to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and its main ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, besides being able to meet the challenge of the PPP in the forthcoming local government elections.

They pointed out that besides Imtiaz Shaikh and Manzoor Panhwar, who have been vying for the office of the chief executive in the province from day one, another aspirant could be Murtaza Jatoi.

The elder Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, who has maintained a low profile for some years, has been grooming his sons for top jobs. Mr Jatoi wanted to see his elder son in the assembly but the latter could not make it due to the condition of graduation. But since he is qualified to be a member of the assembly, he may emerge as a candidate for the top job by getting himself elected from the seat of his cousin, Farhad Zaman Jatoi, who does not seem to have adjusted to the world of politics.

According to insiders, the resignation of Mr Arif Jatoi is the first step aimed at getting Murtaza Jatoi in the limelight as adviser to the chief minister. His induction may help him to get himself elected on the seat to be vacated by his cousin.