ISLAMABAD The Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination, Senator Raza Rabbani, has resigned from the federal cabinet following the decision by PPP top brass to pitch Senator Farooq H. Naek for the coveted slot of Senate chairman.

On Sunday last, the veteran PPP senator dropped a bomb shell by quitting his post as the leader of opposition in Senate - a day after the resignation of Leader of the House Wasim Sajjad.

PPP sources told Dawn that Rabbani was apparently upset for not being nominated for the Senate chairman position despite running the Upper House for years smoothly from both sides of the aisles.

Sources disclosed that ANP chief Asfandyar Wali had broken the unruly news to Rabbani well ahead of the official PPP announcement, leading the veteran PPP leader to quit as the leader of the house in Senate and as federal minister within a couple of days.

Rabbani offered no comment on the matter when contacted by Dawn but he did not deny the news either.

It is learnt on authority that the Federal Information Minister has been persuading Rabbani to take back his resignation from the cabinet post but to no avail so far.

President Asif Zardari is yet to accept the resignation by Raza Rabbani, sources claim.