Challenging interior minister: Apex court defers plea to declare Malik ineligible

Says petition to be considered after a decision on the NRO review petition.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday deferred a petition against Interior Minister Rehman Mailk’s eligibility till a decision on a review petition filed by the government against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is announced.

The petitioner, Advocate Maulvi Iqbal Haider requested the court to declare Malik ineligible, since the cases against him have been revived after the NRO verdict. He therefore does not qualify for a public office, the petition adds.

“Advocate Haider could not appear before the bench since he is barred from entering the Supreme Court on account of ‘moral turpitude,’” advocate-on-record (AOR), Arshad Ali Chaudhry informed the division bench of the apex court comprising Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Tariq Pervez.

The AOR informed the court that Malik was convicted by the accountability court, Rawalpindi in two references in absentia in 2004. However, after the promulgation of the NRO, his sentence was revoked.

“Malik’s conviction stands revived after the Supreme Court declared the NRO unconstitutional,” he stated.

“The plea against Rehman Malik’s eligibility will be decided after a decision on the pending review petition of the government against the NRO verdict,” Justice Tariq Parvez noted.

The court adjourned the case for an indefinite period.

In his petition, Iqbal Haider had requested the Supreme Court to direct the Sindh High Court (SHC) to decide his pending plea for the disqualification of the interior minister.

Haider stated that the SHC was not hearing his petition on the grounds that the review petition against the NRO had yet to be decided by the Supreme Court.

He said he had pleaded before the SHC that the apex court had repeatedly directed the government to implement its verdict on the NRO in letter and spirit. Despite the fact that the court had not granted a stay on its judgment on the NRO, the SHC had not taken up his petition.

Meanwhile a formal request by the petitioner to the Senate chairman to move a reference for Malik’s disqualification was also not entertained.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2011.