Rehman Malik sworn in as Minister for Interior

Following being forced to denounce his alleged dual nationality, Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik has sworn back into parliament and federal cabinet.

Rehman Malik administered oath of office by President Asif Ali Zardari shortly after his swearing in as Senator. The Cabinet Division also issued a notification in this regard.

Interestingly, he was reelected unopposed at a by-election in the same seat for the Senate, the Upper House of Parliament, which he held prior to his suspension by the Supreme Court. His re-election paved the way for him to be reconfirmed as a federal minister.

Pakistan Television (PTV), the state-run channel live broadcasted the swearing-in ceremony.

It is vital to mention here that Rehman Malik had tendered his resignation from membership of Senate, after the Supreme Court suspended him from parliament on June 4 for holding British citizenship.

The Constitution of Pakistan bars MPs (Members of Parliament) from acquiring dual citizenship. Earlier, Malik submitted documents to the court but he failed to convince judges that he had renounced his dual nationality before election.

Ultimately he lost portfolio of Interior Ministry after his suspension, as the Constitution only allows members of parliament to hold the rank of cabinet minister.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf swiftly appointed him as his advisor on interior affairs, effectively allowing him to keep his interior ministry portfolio. Although Rehman Malik belongs to Punjab, he is re-elected from Karachi, the provincial metropolis city of Sindh.

This seat was reserved for technocrats; hence, Malik grabbed the portfolio as former official from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) staged a walk out from the Senate over the summoning of an emergency session of the Upper House only for Rehman Malik’s oath-taking ceremony.

Senator Zafar Ali Shah of the PML-N inquired over the justification behind summoning an emergency session, saying that the cost of holding a session of Senate was 16 million rupees.

Senator Ishaq Dar said that today’s session was not in accordance with the parliamentary  calendar, adding that, if this was how the government intended to conduct matters, there were little chances of improvement in the future.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 27 2012. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, Politics. 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.