ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik was summoned to the Pakistani Supreme Court for corruption offences on Thursday.
A three-member bench at the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is looking into the case of Pakistan Steel Mills, where former chairman Moin Aftab Shaikh allegedly caused losses worth 22 billion rupees to the state-run steel facility and then fled from the country. The Court has taken action against Shaikh in his absence.
An FIA official conducting investigations told reporters at the Supreme Court that under orders of the top court an FIR has been registered, which has nominated Shaikh and three others.
Malik was charged with illegally replacing officials including Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Tariq Khosa, who were initially probing Pakistan Steel Mills’ financial losses. “I respect the rule of law. I have appeared before the court not as a minister but as an ordinary citizen,” Malik told the court. He was ordered to submit a written reply by Jan. 24 next year.
Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had already attempted to privatize Pakistan Steel Mills but was barred by the Supreme Court, leading him to take legal action against Chaudhry.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has also issued a detailed judgment on Wednesday in the constitutional petition of Chaudhry against his illegal removal from office by Pervez Musharraf.
