The Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear a petition challenging eligibility of interior minister Rehman Malik after the apex court adjudicate the federation's review petition against the December 16, 2009 judgement of the court on the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Tariq Parvez was hearing a petition filed by Moulvi Iqbal Haider, challenging the eligibility of Rehman Malik. The advocate-on-record (AOR) Arshad Ali Chaudhry informed the court that the applicant Moulvi Iqbal Haider had to argue his petition in person, however, he did not come as his entry into the Supreme Court building was banned.
The AOR told the court that the accountability court had convicted Rehman Malik. However, after promulgation of NRO, his sentence was set aside. He said after the Supreme Court declared NRO null and void, his conviction stood revived, thus he was not eligible to hold any public office and required to be declared disqualified and unseated.
Justice Tariq Parvez noted that since the review petition against NRO judgement was pending, thus the plea against Rehman Malik's eligibility would be decided after decision on the pending review plea against NRO verdict. The court adjourned further hearing for indefinite period.
Molvi Iqbal Haider in his petition has sought directives of the Supreme Court to the Sindh High Court (SHC) to decide his pending plea seeking disqualification of Rehman Malik, as his conviction in corruption references stood restored after the NRO was declared null and void by the apex court on December 16, 2009. Haider stated that he had filed a petition with the SHC for disqualification of Interior minister Rehman Malik, however 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 SHC that the apex court had not granted any stay on the implementation of its judgement on NRO, instead it (SC) had been repeatedly directing for implementation of its verdict on the NRO in letter and spirit. Even then, he said, SHC was not hearing his petition, which was against the norms of justice. He said he had formally sent a request to the Senate Chairman to move reference for Rehman Malik's disqualification, but he did not.