Islamabad, Nov 16: After serving a little over three years as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, was given a 'gloomy' farewell with 68 out of 70 ministers in his cabinet not uttering a single word that would indicate that they wanted him to return back as the next premier after the general elections.

Aziz, who was handpicked by President General Pervez Musharraf after the bloodless coup in 1999 to head the Finance Ministry, was sworn in as the Prime Minister after Zafarullah Khan Jamali's exit in 2004.

At Thursday's dinner party, where the outgoing cabinet was given a farewell, a majority of the ministers wanted to see Aziz returning back to his Citibank job.

"To the surprise of the outgoing Prime Minister, many ministers reportedly complimented him for his good work for three years, but none said he should come back, " The News reported.

The daily quoting sources in the Cabinet said that the ministers did not wish Aziz to return back, "apparently because they did not want to send a wrong signal to Ch Pervez Elahi who was already acting as the future Prime Minister, and would soon be distributing party tickets. "

However, it did not deter the outgoing ministers from showering lavish praises on Aziz for turning around the country's economy, which the latter "listened in silence and with grace. "

Aziz, who according to a new study has 93 per cent of his assets in the US and Britain, had on many occasions expressed his desire to contest for the Prime Ministership again, but the move was greatly resented by leaders like Farooq Leghari, Ch Pervaiz Elahi and Hamayum Akhtar, who are keen to occupy the post after the next general elections.

It was feared that if the nomination of Aziz as the future Prime Minister was made public ahead of polls, it might not only lead to disintegration of the political alliance but might also hurt the vote bank of the ruling party, the daily reported. (ANI)