ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister and longtime Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Rehman Malik passed away on Wednesday after contracting Covid-19. He was 70.
Malik, who was suffering from coronavirus-related complications for over a month now, was hospitalised in Islamabad in late January and put on a ventilator on February 1, his spokesperson Riaz Ahmad Turi had said at the time.
“Deeply devastated to say that former interior minister [and] PPP senior leader Abdul Rehman Malik passed away,” Turi tweeted.
Deeply devasted to say that Former Interior Minister, PPP’ senior leader Abdul Rehman Malik passed away. Sorrow, pain and grief are indescribable. All are requested to pray for his soul.
— Riaz Ali Turi (@RiazToori) February 22, 2022
“Sorrow, pain and grief are indescribable. All are requested to pray for his soul.”
Confirming the news of his death, PPP Senator Sehar Kamran tweeted: “Dr Rehman Malik left us today.”
He is survived by his widow, Saeeda Malik, and two sons, Ali and Omar Malik.
Malik remained the minister for interior from 2008 to 2013 during the PPP government.
A confidant and security chief of slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he played a key role in the investigation into her assassination.
But his role as Bhutto’s security chief at the time of her assassination in 2007 also came under question and he was criticised for not staying back on the site following the blast to ensure her safety.
Before turning to politics, Malik had pursued a successful career in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as a special agent, eventually becoming the Additional Director General of the agency in 1993.
During his stint as director, he coordinated successful counter-terrorism operations at home and abroad, including the arrest and extradition to the United States in 1995 of Ramzi Yousef, one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434 in 1994.
After being removed from the position in 1997 by then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Malik moved to the United Kingdom where he set up his own private security firm and obtained British nationality.
He returned to Pakistan in 2007 alongside Bhutto.
Top leadership and opposition MPs took to Twitter to express their condolences on Malik’s death.
“May Allah give enough strength to the bereaved family” to bear the loss, tweeted the office of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
وزیرِ اعظم عمران خان کا سابق وزیرِ داخلہ سینیٹر رحمان ملک کے انتقال پر اظہارِ افسوس
اللہ تعالی مرحوم کی مغفرت فرمائیں اور سوگواران کو صبرِ جمیل عطا کریں. – وزیرِ اعظم
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) February 23, 2022
President Dr Arif Alvi expressed “deep sorrow” and sympathies for the Malik family.
صدر مملکت ڈاکٹر عارف علوی کا سابق وزیر داخلہ رحمٰن ملک کے اِنتقال پر اظہارِ افسوس
صدر مملکت كا وفات پر گہرے رنج و غم کا اظہار
صدر ڈاکٹر عارف علوی کا رحمٰن ملک کے اہل خانہ سے اظہار ہمدردی
صدر مملکت کی مرحوم کیلئے دعائے مغفرت، لواحقین کیلئے صبر جمیل کی دعا#RehmanMalik
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) February 23, 2022
Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed expressed “sorrow and grief”.
سابق وزیر داخلہ و رہنما پیپلز پارٹی رحمن ملک کے انتقال پر دکھ اورافسوس کااظہار کرتا ہوں
رحمن ملک کے لواحقین اور خاندان کے دیگر افراد کے کیساتھ اظہار تعزیت
رحمن ملک کی رحلت کی خبر سن کر دکھ ہوا۔ خاندان کے غم میں برابر کے شریک ہیں۔
1/2— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) February 23, 2022
Zia ud-Din Yousafzai, the father of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, also mourned the death of the PPP veteran.
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
Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry lauded Malik’s role in the Hudaibiya Paper Mill case investigation, saying that while justice was still awaited, the probe had shown such modern ways of investigating corruption that people were left “astounded”.
The PPP stalwart was paid glowing tributes by his own party’s leaders and members.
“Rehman Malik always practised politics of honesty and principles. When terrorism was on the rise in the country, it was Rehman Malik who played a pivotal role in eradicating terrorism,” said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
He added that Malik had always performed his responsibilities in the “best possible way”. Bilawal also pointed out that the deceased’s writing showed his understanding of the region’s situation was “extraordinary”.
PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari too praised Malik, saying he was a “hardworking and capable interior minister”.
He added that Malik’s services to the country were unforgettable and the PPP leadership and workers shared his family’s grief.
PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla said he was “deeply saddened” on hearing the news and praised his former peer as a “good man and amazing politician”.
“Rehman Malik’s death is a great loss for the country’s politics. The vacuum created by Rehman Malik’s demise can never be filled,” he said, adding that his services for the PPP will always be remembered.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman prayed for the deceased and his family as well.
Other PPP figures such as Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Sindh Local Bodies Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah also praised the former senator and prayed for him.
PML-N figures also paid tribute to the former interior minister, with party president Shehbaz Sharif extending his condolences to Malik’s family and the PPP leadership.
He said Malik’s services for the nation and democracy would always be remembered.
“I am deeply saddened by the demise of former interior minister Rehman Malik. May God forgive him and grant patience to his family,” senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal tweeted.
