Rehman Malik

Published April 24, 2013

Born in 1951, Rehman Malik hails from Sialkot in Punjab’s northeast. He started a career in the civil service in 1973 and worked in various capacities in the government’s Bureau of Emigration. In 1987, he started working for the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which he served in several capacities. He managed to climb upwards in the organisation rather quickly, reportedly on account of his connections with a staff member of former military ruler Ziaul Haq.

During Benazir’s second government, he further emerged as one of the most powerful bureaucrats and rose to the position of FIA’s director general. Benazir had also assigned him the task of probing Nawaz Sharif’s corruption.

Jailed by Sharif over corruption charges after his 1997 re-election, Malik was later granted bail. Subsequently, he left for Afghanistan and then moved to the United Kingdom. Apart from assisting Benazir during her years in self-imposed exile, he developed and still has major business interests in the UK.

Having laid low for a few years, Malik emerged as Benazir’s chief of security in 2007 after brokering a deal between her and the then president Pervez Musharraf. His role as top negotiator made Malik Benazir’s most trusted aide, a position previously enjoyed by Makhdoom Amin Faheem.

After Benazir’s assassination and the victory of PPP in the 2008 general election, Malik who was also elected to the Senate, was appointed Federal Minister for Interior. In June 2012, the Supreme Court suspended Malik’s Senate membership over holding dual nationality. He later resigned from his Senate membership but was again elected and sworn in as Senator, and subsequently as interior minister. Malik claims to have renounced his British citizenship on March 25, 2008.

His recent assignment as interior minister can easily be labelled as currently the worst job in the country. With continual terrorist attacks across Pakistan as well as political killings plaguing Karachi for the past several years, Malik has repeatedly been accused of incompetence. He has been a subject of much public ridicule and his measure as interior minister of blocking mobile phone services on national and religious occasions has also not been of much help.

— Research and text by Saher Baloch

Opinion

Editorial

Islamabad march
Updated 27 Nov, 2024

Islamabad march

WITH emotions running high, chaos closes in. As these words were being written, rumours and speculation were all...
Policing the internet
27 Nov, 2024

Policing the internet

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech ...
Correcting sports priorities
27 Nov, 2024

Correcting sports priorities

IT has been a lingering battle that has cast a shadow over sports in Pakistan: who are the national sports...
Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...