Not many ministers resign on their own in this Land of the Pure, even if found culpable of heinous crimes like corruption or moral turpitude. So it must have been something extraordinary that forced Mr Shaukat Tareen to tender his resignation. Those privy to palace intrigues blame the tremendous pressure brought to bear upon him by certain quarters not to object to some of the mega projects that the Finance Minister considered not very transparent or beneficial for the country. Sartaj Aziz was told by the late President GIK that the Finance Minister could either be popular or patriotic, not both. Clearly Mr Tareen chose to be the latter. I wish his successor too would also act in the best interests of Pakistan. -COL. RIAZ JAFRI (RETD), Rawalpindi, February 24.