ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Rehman Malik Thursday tendered unconditional apology and placed himself at the mercy of the court for interfering in the investigation of Pakistan Steel Mills corruption case.
In a Civil Miscellaneous Application, the minister said he never intended to interfere in the judicial proceedings but had wanted to to enlarge the scope of the inquiry already being conducted by the FIA. A three-member bench on 16th May last year in its judgment on Pakistan Steel Mills had noted that the minister by transferring former FIA DG Tariq Khosa in December 2009 had interfered in the case.
Tariq Khosa was heading a team, which investigated the corruption in Steel Mills. As the investigation was still in progress, Tariq Khosa was transferred. Later, instead of nabbing the real culprits the team members tried to protect them. In the application, Rehman Malik said he had always placed the judiciary, including the apex court, in high esteems and never intended to undermine its dignity. The minister apologised for the unintended inconvenience caused by him. During the hearing, Mr Malik, personally appearing before the bench, said he wanted to argue his case as the counsel failed to explain his point of view properly.The court asked him that his case would be taken up after March 16, 2013. Talking to journalists at the premises of the Supreme Court, the minister said he has always been respecting the courts and would continue to do so in future. “I was trying to enhance the scope of investigations by taking this step,” he said. He further explained, “I initiated the investigation because National Assembly asked me to give details”.