18 May 2010
On 17 May, President Asif Ali Zardari pardoned Interior Minister Rehman Malik against conviction and sentence awarded to him by the Accountability Court Rawalpindi in January 2004 in absentia under 31-A of NAB Ordinance. Rehman Malik’s appeal had been rejected by the Lahore high Court yesterday.
If Rehman Malik’s sentence had been carried out, he would have faced three years in prison. Despite the rejection of his appeals by the accountability courts, Rehman Malik maintained his innocence, asserting that he had been the victim of political conspiraciesSpokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that the pardon was granted under Article 45 of the Constitution on the advice of the Prime Minister. Article 45 of the Constitution states: “The President shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or authority.”
