A Pkpolitics.com Exclusive
(Interview by Ghulam Mustafa)
A cloud of dark allegations, some of them too awful to be whispered, float around the man as he flits tirelessly from TV screen to TV screen carrying on a lively jousting match with the powerful military, the media and the ‘agencies’. Now thrusting, now parrying and now giving way – all the while wearing a smile of calm serenity – Reman Malik, the most prominent PPP minister, will always be remembered as the man who sunk Asif Zardari’s presidency.
Right or wrong? Only time will tell. One thing is certain though: Rehman Malik will go down fighting.
He spoke with pkpolitics.com today in an exclusive interview discussing NRO and the omission of the infamous Oil-for-food scandal from the list of scandals published by NAB (National Accountability Bureau).
Responding to a question about the media’s special affection for him, Rehman Malik categorically dismissed all corruption cases, and the media hype surrounding the NRO, as desperate acts of vengeance against him by the Sharif dynasty. “Most of the cases against me were created by the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif”, he declared. “There was no truth in these cases; it was all a political drama.”
Mr. Malik was also adamant in his denial of any wrongdoing in the Yellow Cab Scheme because, it being a federal program, he was in no position to influence it. “How could I have anything to do with the Yellow Cab Scheme? I was only the DG FIA”, he said, sounding incredulous. He demanded the investigators turn their guns on the PMLN and should question Nawaz Sharif about any wrongdoings in the Yellow Cab Scheme.
Using the survivor argument, Rehman asserted his innocence on the grounds of emerging unscathed after 13 years of being hounded in the political wilderness. “Look, how much money was spent by Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif for investigating my cases.” Rehman said, adding “If I had done something wrong, or if they could have found something against me, do you think that they would have spared me, or do you think I could have survived?”
Reserving his fury for Nawaz Sharif, Rehman Malik finds the situation comical. “After doing so much, and spending so much money, they could only bring corruption of 13 lac against [me]? And that too in the Yellow Cab Scheme, in which I was never involved?, he asked.
Rehman, who was dubbed the “Jhootoon ka IG” (lit: The Father of Liers) by the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif during the Long March, accused the PMLN leadership of instigating a systematic media campaign of character assassination against him. “Nawaz Sharif and some other people were trying to defame me. It was nothing else. Today I stand vindicated”, he declared. “Khoda pahaR, nikla chooha! (Mountains out of a molehill)”, he laughed derisively.
But he did concede a change in the media’s tone once they could not nail him on corruption. “Now, media has become friendly with me, unlike in the past, when I was one of the major targets of Pakistani media” said Rehman Malik. “What the media did to my image, in my early days of office, is apparent to the whole world.”
Though he said this in passing, Rehman Malik’s appreciation of the media for dialing down the rhetoric bears closer inspection. Casting aside hostile opinion articles or rants by opinionated TV anchors, the media has been remarkably mild and milquetoast with Rehman Malik when it comes to reporting his actual words and investigating his actual actions.
For example, until the PPP-Musharraf détente, the Oil-for-Food fraud case was being heard by the courts in Spain with the Pakistani government as the claimant party. The case was chugging along just fine when the wheels suddenly came off the wagon during the NRO-Deal negotiations as the Pakistani government backtracked from following the case. Rehman was of the view that the case in Spain was just an inquiry and that the case was closed when the prosecution didn’t find anything against him. Rehman repeatedly asserted that the case in Spain was closed much earlier than the promulgation of NRO. “This case was closed one year before (promulgation of NRO),” Rehman repeated.
However, an official press release of NAB released in June 2007, just four months before the NRO, still available on NAB’s website on the link, contradicts Rehman’s assertion that the case was closed one year before the NRO’s promulgation and proves that it was in fact closed during talks of NRO-Deal, not before. As far as NAB was concerned, the case was closed in Pakistan, but the same official press release reveals that that trial of the case would continue in Madrid, Spain.
Yet this aspect of the case has not been noticed by many commentators. And this is not the only case of media dropping the ball, there are many others. It bears repeating that the case was initiated when the erstwhile UN Secretary General Kofi Anan wrote to the Spanish government about corruption of millions of dollars by a company owned jointly by Rehman Malik, Hassan Ali Jaffri and Benazir Bhutto.
To many of those who think this Zardari-led PPP government is the last best chance Pakistan has for setting a democratic precedent, Rehman Malik is a harmless figure who has been maligned unfairly. They like his forceful and bombastic approach to diplomacy with the coalition partners. They admire him for his courage in taking a bold stance against the Taliban. And they approve of his flair for smart realpolitik in thorny issues like NFC and Balochistan.
His critics argue that this is typical of PPP myopia in its refusal to call a spade a spade. To them Rehman Malik is symptomatic of everything that is wrong with the PPP. They point to his connections with foreign intelligence agencies. They note with suspicion his meteoric rise through the ranks from his humble beginnings from the days of Zia. His abrupt and casual acts of volte face in the past signify to them Rehman Malik’s difficult relationship with the truth.
Whichever group one belongs to, no one can disagree that Rehman Malik has been subjected to a veritable media trial-by-fire. And this is exactly what is wrong here: the trial by fire, especially when it comes with a stunning lack of focus on actual facts and evidence. During the interview with pkpolitics.com, Rehman Malik repeatedly proclaimed his innocence because of lack of court judgments against him. “Whatever I said about these cases, my view was that these cases should be reopened. I mean, come and re-open the cases. That’s what I have been saying all along.”
Rehman Malik is absolutely justified in demanding a judicial re-examination of his corruption cases because he deserves to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The NRO needs to be declared null and void and all corruption cases need to be reopened, including those of Rehman Malik, because without a court conviction to back up their allegations, the hostile Pakistani media rides roughshod over the concept of balance, being, by turns overly hostile and by turns, needlessly pliant.
The decision on the NRO should be coming any day now and this will not be the beginning of the end, not by a long shot. It could hopefully be, as the wag said, the end of the beginning. A beginning of true accountability, presided by a credible judiciary and promoted by a free media which pits facts against fiction, not fiction against fiction.
To cut a long story short, Rehman Malik’s corruption cases need to be re-opened.
The PkPolitics Team.
THE LIES IN ALL MEANS LIES. He allowed american security agencies against the national interest. Now the nation is suffering and he alway in denial moooooode. The nation is paying the price for the lies and mischeiving manner of present Government leaders. Really he and his BOSS, both are big lier and corrupt…………………….. NA RO
where is the video for the interview?
I know this guy is absolutely corrupt as he emerged from a middle class family and spent his life in government organization. There is no way that a government servant can pile up that much wealth to support him to buy properties abroad and a present luxurious living. His claim that nothing could be proved against him, is an utter nonsense statement as we know that many things stand true regardless whether they were admitted by court or not. RM was part of the cases filed against BB and Zardari. In a recent column, Javed Chaudhery disclosed the already known fact that how Zardari’s friends always threatened the judges to not to give a verdict on their cases. That is the reason why nothing was proved against him. I wish all their cases reopen now in front of the present judiciary for an independent, impartial and merciless accountability and justice.
Rajapk
I have no love for this scoundrel. But security agencies in Pakistan cannot be allowed by civvies. If they are there, they are there at the behest or the approval atleast of the khakis.
will always be remembered as the man who sunk Asif Zardari’s presidency. but i wish to see him a symbol for people to come he must be hanged.
I love it when all like crooks start blaming each other as non of them have any moral standing, they dirty linen comes out for all to see and they deserve every bit of the verbal bashing, personally they get of lightly and even now still enjoying life of luxury after so many crimes against the people and robbing of national exchequer.
Why don’t they all go to the independent Supreme Court and clear they names why so many excuses.
i’m so much impressed by his courage to tell lies !!!
he should be SLAPPED till DEATH
only then ll Pakistanis feel satisfied and content 
why i have the feeling that Pkpolitics Ghulam Mustafa is sympathetic to Mr Rahman Malik.
see people of Pakistan….where is the picture of quaid e azam muhammad ali jinnah in rehman malik office……it may be somewhere in draws of his office but not on his back……shame on u ppp politians…they forgot jinnah…..this is also the moment of thought 4 all of us…
WHAT SHALL I SAY AND WHAT SHALL IT BE JUST THESE LINES AS A POET SAID
YEH CHAMAN YOUNHI RAHAY GA AUR HAZAROON JANWAR
APNI APNI BOOLIAN SAB BOOL KAR URR JAIANGAY.
rest assure wait and see
Mr R Malik’s corruption cases need to be reopened in front of the current supreme court judges of Pakistan. Since Mr Malik is a bonafied citizen of Pakistan, he need to be given a fair trial, under the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakstan. He also needs to be interrogated in the death of BB.
Mean while he must resigned or be remove from his current post. He is totally incomptent and he is fully responsible for all the sensless killing of innocent citizens of Pakistan. He and Mr Zardari were put in power by the west to destabilize Pakistan. He also is fully responsible for the presence of Notorius BLACK WATER in Pakistan. He has shamelessly denied that, even though it has been confirmed by the western Media.
WTF????????
where is the picture of Quide??????????????????
@ mian mazhar.
Don’t worry ‘NO’ video, can never be, (NOR EVER WILL BE) produced of this interview, which in ITSELF seems to be a VERY BIG LIE.
@ qabil50.
Since this guy is himself the ‘Interior Minister’ thus all one can expect from him is to ‘RUN AWAY’ to any ‘land of no-return’ by cancelling his own as well as Zardari’s name from ‘ECL’ or the Exit Control List.
If he had not been shameful enough, then in the 1st place he would not have run away from Pakistan; later to return through a back-door ‘flying’ high, or ‘riding’ on the shoulders of Zardari.
It is a very EASY task for any politician, bureaucrat or a ‘jarnail’ (e.g; like our ‘great’ Mush,) to throw his weight on those who once served under him/her, to get his/her name cancelled from the E.C.L & then to scamper to a land of ‘no-return’ where no arm of ‘Pakistani Law’ can ever catch him/her.
That is EXACTLY what happened in case of Iskander Mirza, Musharaf & others, unless they were caught in the ‘web’ of their own making & were badly ‘slaughtered’ (with no TRACE LEFT BEHIND,) like our yet another ‘great’ or a MOMIN, (Na)Mard-i-(Na)Haq, or the last ‘greatest’ LIER of his times, the ‘great’ Zia-ul-Haq.
@ socratese.
Your ‘feeling’ MAY BE RIGHT. According to a survey carried-out by a psychologist, sometimes back, most of the people are of an opinion that there are normally two reasons for generation of such a ‘sympathy’ & which are as follows:-
One, that Mr. G.Mustafa MAY HAVE ACCEPTED a hefty amount in U.S $s from the guy whom he interviewed, or ELSE both may be closely related to each other (through their womenfolk?)
Which is correct? Allah knows best. Only a conjecture or a hypotheses could be made at this moment.
Ya Ya Malik…Zardari is also innocent…
An ordinary employee of FIA owns flats in London..
My late dad worked all his life overseas and was barely able to buy a flat in Karachi.
While no sane person can argue for legitimizing corruption but the fact remains many cases against the politicians were based on personal vendetta so as the cases remain open and the judiciary is impartial I see of no reason that Mr.Malik should hold his public office as Rajiv Ghandi was also cleared many years after his assassination in the infamous “Bofurs scandal”. There are more pressing issues that we need to focus on with the prevailing war on terror any attempts to destabilize the political setup will be disastrous as the radical elements are on a look out for a possible coup
This guy, Blackwater’s best friend in Pakistan, is a traitor to his country and should be tried as such. The trial should be extended to include all those who in recent times have done nothing but sell this country to the West.
This is exactly why 65% Pakistani youth think that military rule is better. If we have to govern with Dogar Courts and PTV, then we should accept martial laws as fait accompli. To convince Pakistanis about the fruits of democracy, we need good democracy with strict accountibility, free media like Geo or Jang Group, Independent Election Commission, independent Law enforcement and prosecution etc. Last but not the least, democracy within political parties and genuine provincial autonomy.
It is such a pitty that during military rule, our politicians make tall claims and blatantly fail the nation when it really matters. We are then afflicted by the state corruption spearheaded by people like Zardari, Faryal Talpur, Islam Zardari, Rehman Malik, Salman Taseer, Zulfiqar Mirza, Siraj Durrani etc. These people are behaving like hungry vultures who pounce on the dead animals.
Our courts always betrayed us, but when it started giving judgements in the public interst, we are getting into nuances and niceties of judicial propriety. I request people like the respected Asma Jehangir and Ali Ahmed Kurd to reconsider their views. Please do not deprive Pakistanis of their only hope and the reason to live by ivoking the finer points of jurisprudence. Courts will learn their lessons and hand out better verdicts.
It is also wrong that courts are carrying out selective accountiblity. Consider these:
= 9 Mar 07 Chief Justice defied a generalismo which led to 20 July 07 restoration of the CJP. Wasn’t that saying no to a Martial Law Administrator?
= Emergency of 3 Nov 07, CJP again said no and a 7 member bench passed the judgement against that. The process led to recruitment of 3 sets of PCO judges in Supreme Court and High Courts. What was that?
= 31 July 09 verdict which sent home more than 100 plus superior judiciary judges. Wasn’t that accountibility of judiciary? Did that ever happen before in the history of Pakistan?
= Musharraf, a all powerful Chief of Army Staff was sent home/ humilitated because of our judiciary ably supported by parties like PML-N, JI, Tehreek Insaaf, PK MAP etc. Wasn’t that accountibiltiy of Army?
= Zardari was directly beneficiary of the judicial activism. If Musharraf was not weekened by judiciary, the events which later occured would not have occured the way they did.
= Yes, one can say that there are no cases against Sharifs or PML-N but then they were mostly wronged in last 10 years during Musharraf rule when PPP was busy making deals. Judiciary first undid those wrongs. And remember who is forcing their MNAs/ MNAs to resign on petty allegations. Remember MNA Haji Pervez and MPA Shumaila Rana.
= Supreme Court recently cancelled the lease of Army Welfare Trust in Karachi which is also unprecedented in Pakistan. I can also see that Asghar Khan petition about the distribution of money to IJI bu ISI will be taken up by Supreme Court sooner rather than later. So is it selective accountibilty?
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