Pak minister resigns over allegations against military

A Pakistani minister has resigned after alleging the former head of military intelligence encouraged violent street demonstrations last year to try to unseat the government, the information minister said yesterday.

The comments by Mushahid Ullah Khan, the federal minister for the environment, have once again exposed the fragile balance between Pakistan's fledgling civilian government and its powerful military, which has a history of mounting coups.

On Friday, Pakistan's Independence Day, Khan gave an interview to the BBC Urdu service about prolonged street demonstrations last year, led by opposition politician Imran Khan and fiery cleric Tahir ul-Qadri.

The two men had vowed to bring down the government over allegations of election-rigging and corruption.