LAHORE: Former Lahore High Court judge and Attorney General for Pakistan Malik Muhammad Qayyum passed away aged 79. Malik Qayyum, who is brother of interim Punjab Health Minister Dr Javed Akram and the late politician Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, had served as judge of the Lahore High Court and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Malik Qayyum was born on Dec 18, 1944 to former Supreme Court judge Justice Muhammad Akram who was part of the LHC bench which awarded the death sentence to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered condolences on the demise of Malik Qayyum. He said the deceased had a distinguished position in the field of law. He prayed for the departed soul to rest in peace and for the grant of patience to the bereaved family. Malik Qayyum was a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and advised sitting benches of the higher judiciary on constitutional issues. Qayyum resigned from the LHC following a controversy over a phone transcript in which he was alleged to be approached for fixing a judgment in a high profile political case.
He started his career as a legal practitioner in 1964 and was elevated as a judge of the high court in October 1988. He also served as a member of Punjab Election Commission. Justice retired Qayyum resigned as the LHC judge after he was named in a conspiracy regarding the hearing of a case pertaining to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2001.
Afterwards, Malik Qayyum started his career as a Supreme Court lawyer and was elected as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 2005. He also headed an inquiry panel established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to investigate match-fixing allegations. The report published in 2000 held several cricketers responsible for match-fixing.
