Indus Gazette Report

Islamabad

Ex FIA official & Interior Minister Rehman Malik Passed Away due to Covid.

Malik contracted COVID-19, which lead to complications in his lungs. He was admitted to the intensive care unit at Shifa Medical hospital for treatment on 1 February 2022, and was put on ventilator. Malik died on the morning of 23 February 2022, at the age of 70.

Prior to his entry in national politics, Malik had pursued a successful career in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as a special agent, eventually becoming the Additional Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency in 1993 until 1996.

From 2004 until 2007, he served as the chief of security of Benazir Bhutto and became senior official of the central committee of the PPP. After successfully contesting in the general elections held in 2008, Malik was appointed adviser and eventually appointed as Interior Minister by Prime Minister Yousaf Gillani.

In 2013, he lost his ministerial appointment after a Supreme Court’s hearing against the dual nationality case, which also influenced his decision of resigning from the Pakistan Senate, also the same year.

Biography

Malik was born in on 12 December 1951 in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan.

He gained his BSc degree and MSc in Statistics in 1973 from the Karachi University.

FIA career

In 1973, Malik joined the National Alien Registration Authority (NARA) as the immigration agent and subsequently In the 1980s, he joined FIA.

Eventually he was appointed as an Additional Director General of the FIA in 1993. His appointment was personally approved by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Removal from FIA and exile in UK

In the ending months of 1996, President Farooq Leghari exercised the constitutional option to dismiss his party’s own government.

One of the first acts of President Leghari, after dismissing Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on 5 November 1996, was to imprison Ghulam Asghar, Director General of the FIA, on non-specified corruption charges. Malik, Additional Director General of FIA, was also arrested and remained in prison for one year.

Immediately, Malik was terminated from the FIA by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1997. In November 1998, Malik termed the termination of his service by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an “act of retaliation” because of the 200-page report, which he had sent to then-President Rafiq Tarar, disclosing large-scale corruption of the Sharif family. Malik then flew to London and made a corruption accusation against the Sharif brothers.

With the dismissal of the government of the PPP, Malik left the country and settled in the United Kingdom, where he set up his own private security firm, DM Digital Network. Malik, serving at the capacity as firm’s president, established its head office at Manchester. Through this firm, he assisted Benazir Bhutto during her exile, and he was her Chief of Security when she returned home in 2007.

During his nine-year-long exile in England, Malik obtained British citizenship. However, he stated that he gave up his British nationality in 2008 before holding public office. He was the Founder President of DM Digital Network with head office at Manchester, but he resigned after his appointment as Advisor Minister to the Prime Minister for the Interior.

PPP activism

Over his years in the United Kingdom, he grew closer to the elite central committee of the PPP. In 2007, he replaced Amin Fahim as the most trusted political aide of Benazir Bhutto, and was appointed as the chief of security of Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

Interior Minister (2008—2013)

After PPP formed the Federal Government following the 2008 general elections, Malik was appointed as an “adviser on interior, intelligence, and narcotics control” by Prime Minister Yousaf Gillani. However, he was upgraded to Interior Minister on 27 April 2009, in Prime Minister Gillani’s cabinet, prior to becoming senator.

Court suspension

The Constitution bars a foreign national (or dual nationality holder) from holding any public office of the Government of Pakistan.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan retroactively suspended and terminated the electoral membership of Farahnaz Ispahani over the issue of dual nationality on 25 May 2012.

In a reference filed against Malik, the Supreme Court began the hearings against Malik over the suspicion of his British nationality.

Effectively, the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry suspended the electoral membership of Malik when he had shown reluctance to submit a declaration by the United Kingdom’s Border Agency to establish that his client had surrendered British nationality on 6 June 2012.

Despite the Supreme Court’s verdict, he was reinstated by Prime Minister Gillani after issuing directives to the cabinet division to reinstate him as an advisor to the prime minister on interior affairs.

On 5 October 2012, Malik informed the Supreme Court that he renounced his British citizenship on 25 March 2008.

Resignation

Shortly after the verdict, Malik tendered his resignation to the Senate to Chairman Senate on 10 July 2012. He continued his work with the Ministry of Interior at the behest of Prime Minister Pervez Ashraf.

On 4 June, his membership in the Senate was suspended by the Supreme Court for being a dual national.

This resulted in the loss of his position as the Interior Minister, because Article 63-A of the Constitution of Pakistan requires each member of the cabinet to be a member of the Parliament. On 10 July 2012, Malik resigned from the Senate.

Awards and recognition

He was awarded an honorary PhD degree from Karachi University. It has been
debated that this degree was given to reconcile political affiliations with MQM.