LAHORE - A three-member bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday directed the Attorney General of Pakistan to submit by March 10, reply on behalf of the federal government to a petition which challenges remission earlier granted by President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari to Interior Minister Rehman Malik on the three years jail sentence which was passed on to him by the Accountability Court, Rawalpindi in absentia in two criminal reference. The petition has been field by Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, inter alia contending that President wrongly exercised his powers under article 45 of the constitution to give remission to Malik when he had the higher forum to challenge his conviction. It may be mentioned here that Lahore High Court had restored the three years jail sentence on May, 2010, by way of lifting the benefit of bail and suspension of the sentence earlier allowed to Rahman Malik on December 22, 2009 by a division bench of this court. Later, the President remitted the sentence. The petitioner is aggrieved that Rehman Malik instead of filing appeal against the LHC order before the Supreme Court, requested the president to grant him pardon against the conviction and same was allowed accordingly. He submits that before availing the judicial remedy, the respondent could not have moved the Presidential Office and the latter also was not authorized to exercise powers under the Article 45 of the Constitution to waive his sentence as it infringed upon set procedure of pardons.