Federation submits reply in Supreme Court over Rehman Malik’s statement

The federation has submitted a reply in response to the Supreme Court’s notice over statement allegedly made by Interior Minister Rehman Malik on the issue of dual nationality.

Earlier on September 22, the court had sought explanation from Rehman Malik over his claims that there were several members of the parliament and provincial assemblies who held dual nationalities.

Advocate-on-Record submitted the reply on behalf of the government, saying that the minister’s statement was taken out of context and that the minister had not delivered any such remarks.

The Interior Ministry had already issued a denial with respect to the statement, he added.

The court had taken notice of reports that quoted Malik and a local journalist on the dual nationality holders, issuing directives for writing letters to the duo to furnish details of members of the parliament and provincial assemblies holding nationality of other countries.

A publication carried out a story on 21.09.2012 and a statement of Rehman Malik published in the same newspaper dated 22.09.2012.

Over the matter, the chief justice had directed the Supreme Court’s office to send letters to both journalist and the minister to furnish details to substantiate the stand taken by them.

Moreover, the court had also directed the office to send a letter to Begum Shehnaz Sheikh, former Minister of State for Health and PML-Q MNA, through Secretary National Assembly to confirm the information given in the newspaper alleging she has been an Australian-Pakistani for at least 16 years.

On Sept 20, the Supreme Court had disqualified 11 members of parliament and provincial assemblies, but had spared Malik for the time being.

The only sentence Malik received for submitting a false declaration was a court observation that he could not be considered sagacious, righteous and honest.

However, like other lawmakers, the minister will be facing legal proceedings by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which may entail a punishment of up to seven years and also require him to reimburse all monetary benefits drawn by him up to July 11, 2012, for the period he occupied the public office.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=33573

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Oct 3 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.