ISLAMABAD - The Thursday's short order of the Supreme Court in dual nationality case vividly provides for the Interior Minister Rehman Malik's disqualification, leaving no room for confusion over this matter.
As member of the parliament, he (Rehman Malik) cannot be considered sagacious, righteous and honest for filing a false declaration before the Election Commission of Pakistan at the time of contesting Senate elections in 2008, according to the court order.
Malik in the nomination papers at the time of his election as senator had declared that he did not hold dual nationality.
However, later on, the court came to know through documentary evidence while hearing the dual nationality case that bedsides being a Pakistani citizen, he had been holding UK nationality at that time which he only renounced in May, 2012.
Rehman Malik before May even had given a written statement before the apex court that he did not hold dual nationality. Referring to article 63 (2) of the constitution, the court order says that such a dishonest person cannot qualify for the membership of the parliament.
Fearing his disqualification, the shrewd Interior minister tried to manoeuvre the situation by resigning from the seat as senator in July this year and then getting re-elected as member of the Upper of House after the renunciation of his UK nationality, but all his moves ended in smoke before the apex court.
The three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has directed the Senate chairman to send a reference against Rehman Malik for his disqualification.
The order is clear and unambiguous; it leaves no room for any reconsideration on the part of the senate chairman, who is simply required to implement the already decided matter.
Like other eleven lawmakers whose disqualification had been notified by the ECP on Thursday, Rehman Malik has been ordered to refund all monetary benefits drawn by him up during the period he occupied the public office. The bench also directed the election commission to institute legal proceedings against Malik and others for their false declarations.