A full bench of Lahore High Court, here on Monday, hearing a petition that challenged remission of sentence of Interior Minister, Rehman Malik by President Asif Ali Zardari, gave last chance to a deputy attorney general (DAG) to advance arguments on behalf of the federation.
Earlier, DAG Naveed Inayat Malik appeared before the bench along with Deputy Secretary Interior, Muhammad Maalik Khattak and sought adjournment of the case, as he was not prepared to make the arguments. Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Ijaz, heading the bench, expressed displeasure on the request and directed the DAG to come up with arguments on December 20 next.
Earlier, Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, Media Advisor of Save Judiciary Committee, filed the petition contending that the remission had been made in violation of the procedure of the constitution. He said Lahore High Court had restored the sentence earlier awarded to him (Malik) by an accountability court but the minister, instead of filing appeal in the Supreme Court, directly approached the president for getting pardon.
Qureshi contended that the president exercised his power after the restoration of conviction by the high court, therefore, the remission granted is unlawful. He prayed to the court to restore sentence of Rehman Malik, setting aside notification of presidential pardon and restore his conviction.
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