Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former interior minister Rehman Malik has passed away in Islamabad at the age of 70. The deceased was recently shifted to a private hospital in Islamabad due to Covid-related complication.
Malik’s spokesperson Riaz Turi told media that his lungs were severely affected due to Covid.
The deceased leaves behind a widow and two sons.
Condolences
Following news of his demise, many public figures including politicians took to Twitter to condole Rehman Malik’s passing.
Pakistan Muslim League – N (PML-N) leader and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal expressed grief at the news, praying for the deceased’s family.
سابق وزیر داخلہ رحمن ملک کے انتقال پہ دلی صدمہ ہوا- اللہ تعالی ان کی مغفرت فرمائے اور ان کے اہل خانہ کو صبر جمیل عطا فرمائے آمین! pic.twitter.com/rCiz3WL6Pw
— Ahsan Iqbal (@betterpakistan) February 22, 2022
Malala Yousafzai’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai also tweeted his condolences.
Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about the loss of Rehman Malik. Inna lillahe wa inna ilaihe rajoon. He helped us at a very difficult time. May his soul rest in peace. آمین
(Picture: October 25, 2012.) pic.twitter.com/zIcrK5Yjre— Ziauddin Yousafzai (@ZiauddinY) February 22, 2022
Journalist Hamid Mir also prayed for the departed soul, sharing a recent article he had written before his illness.
Good Bye Senator Rehman Malik. He wrote an article about US-Russia tension few days before going to hospital due to #COVID19 complications. https://t.co/LoOEnDjSgv
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) February 23, 2022
Profile
Rehman Malik remained Pakistan’s Interior Minister during PPP’s rule from 2008 to 2013. He was born in 1951 in Sialkot, Punjab and began his civil service career in 1973. He initially worked with the Bureau of Emigration before his stints with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that began in 1997. Malik went on to become the director general of the agency during former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s second government. He was also given the task to investigate former PM Nawaz Sharif’s alleged corruption.
Later during Nawaz Sharif’s government, Rehman Malik was arrested on charges of corruption. He left Pakistan for Afghanistan after getting bail. From Afghanistan, he moved to the United Kingdom where he later helped Benazir Bhutto during her time in self-exile. In 2017, Rehman Malik was made BB’s chief of security reportedly after he helped with a deal between her and former president Pervez Musharraf.
As Interior Minister
Rehman Malik repeatedly issued strong statements against the Taliban during his ministership when terrorist attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were on the rise across the country. Following terror attacks, he would appear on media to condemn the Taliban and tell the Pakistani media to refer to them as ‘zalimaan’ (oppressor) instead of Taliban. Malik had remained on terrorists’ hit-list due to his position against them.
Rehman Malik’s handling of security affairs, however, was not particularly popular as his steps to block mobile and internet services during Eid and other holidays as a security measure, generated a public backlash.
Moreover, his role as Benazir Bhutto’s security chief at the time of her murder in December 2017 also came under question as he was criticised for not staying back on the site following the blast to ensure his leader’s safety.
