LAHORE – A full bench of Lahore High Court on Monday deferred for February 21 the hearing of a petition challenging remission in interior minister Rehman Malik’s sentence by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Bench postponed the hearing on request of the petitioner counsel. Bench earlier had directed the deputy attorney general and petitioner counsel to come up with final arguments on the point whether the President of Pakistan rightly exercised his power under article 45 of the constitution while grating remission to Rehman Malik in his sentence.
Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, media advisor of Save Judiciary Committee, moved this petition. Petitioner counsel submitted that Lahore High Court had restored the sentence earlier awarded to him by accountability court and Rehman instead of filing appeal against it in Supreme Court of Pakistan directed approached the president for getting presidential pardon.
He submitted that the president had pardoned Rehman Malik by exercising his power. He claimed that the restoration of the conviction by the high court, therefore, the remission granted by the president is unlawful. He asserted that the remission had been made in violation of the set procedure for such a pardon or remission under the constitution.
He submitted that the minister had to approach the Supreme Court after restoration of sentence but he did not avail that forum and had he resorted to apex court, it might have set aside the decision of the High Court. Counsel said Rehman Malik bypassed judicial procedure by taking a hasty step to get president pardon.
He said that the president pardoned the sentence of Rehman Malik on political basis, making a mockery of the judicial system. He said the president abused article 45 of the constitution for pardoning the conviction of Rehman Malik and also ignored legal formalities involved in the matter.
He requested to restore the sentence of Rehman setting aside the notification of presidential pardon and restore conviction of Rehman Malik.
