ECP decides against Malik’s disqualification

The Election Commission on Tuesday decided not to disqualify Interior Minister Rehman Malik as a legislator.
Election Commission Secretary Afzal Khan said that no further proceedings will be conducted against Malik. Khan said the decision was taken during a meeting of the ECP, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, following a reference sent by Deputy Chairman Senate Sabir Baloch regarding Malik’s disqualification.
The reference states that there was no question of Malik’s disqualification.
Last month, the Supreme Court had disqualified 11 members of parliament and provincial assemblies, for holding dual nationalities — forbidden for lawmakers by Pakistani law — but had spared Mr Malik, leaving the ball in the Senate chairman’s court to file a reference against him to the Election Commission within 30 days deciding on his disqualification.
The only sentence the minister received was a court observation that he could not be considered sagacious, righteous, honest and ameen.
Earlier on Tuesday, Malik also filed a review petition against the SC’s sentence.
Malik said that the case was taken up against him on the request of an absconder and proclaimed offender Syed Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi. Malik also said that neither was he issued a notice, nor was he given the chance to be heard in court.
He said after he had resigned from the Senate, Naqvi’s application should not have been heard by the court.
The interior minister said he was not issued a notice, nor was he heard in the court, which was a violation of the law and that the decision of withdrawing perks was “unlawful”. The review petition was filed under Article 188.