Former interior minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday passed away in an Islamabad hospital after suffering from Covid-19 related complications. He was at 70.

Malik is survived by his widow and two sons. According to his spokesperson Riaz Ahmed Turi, the PPP leader’s lungs had been severely affected.

Earlier this month, Malik was put on a ventilator after his health deteriorated because of Covid-related complications. Malik had tested positive for the coronavirus in January.

Condolence messages

Reacting to the incident, politicians and ministers expressed their sorrow and offered condolences to the bereaved family.

PPP co-chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the former interior minister. "Malik was a hardworking and capable interior minister," he said in a statement.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto also expressed his sorrow and lauded Malik's efforts for eradicating terrorism from the country.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid was also grieved and prayed for the departed soul.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry also offered his condolences and hailed Malik's efforts in the Hudaibia case.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was "deeply saddened" to learn about the passing of PPP leader Rehman Malik. "May Allah Almighty rest his soul in peace! I extend my heartfelt condolences and profound sympathies to the bereaved family and the PPP leadership," he said in a tweet.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was shocked and prayed for the departed soul.

Malik's background

The PPP leader was born in December 1951 in Sialkot. He had a BSc degree and an MSc in Statistics from the University of Karachi. In 2011, he was conferred with an honorary PhD by the Karachi University in recognition of "matchless services to the country in the war on terror and particularly in restoring peace to the citizens of Karachi.”

He served as the interior minister from 2008 to 2013 prior to which he was a Federal Investigation Agency officer.

The deceased was an FIA special agent and in 1996, he became the additional director general of the agency. Malik’s appointment was personally approved by the then prime minister Benazir Bhutto. During his tenure as director, he coordinated multiple counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan and abroad.

Former premier Benazir also gave him the task to probe ousted PM Nawaz Sharif’s alleged corruption.

Using his constitutional right, the then president Farooq Leghari dismissed his own party’s government in 1996. After dismissing Benazir, Leghari imprisoned Ghulam Asghar and Malik on corruption charges.

The deceased had authored multiple books -- including, Daesh-ISIS: Rising Monster World Wide: the Inside Account of ISIS and Its Hidden Agenda, Bleeding Kashmir: Oppressed Kashmiris Waiting for Justice & Plebiscite, and Coronavirus Covid-19: Threat to National Security Bio-warfare Or Real Virus.

Political career

Malik entered national politics through the PPP platform when he went into exile in the UK after being removed as the FIA director, remaining in prison for a year and surviving an assassination attempt.

After Nawaz Sharif came into power in 1997, he terminated Malik from the FIA. Settled in the UK, the former FIA director set up his own private security firm called DM Digital Network.

The firm assisted Benazir during her exile in the UK and Malik was her chief of security when she returned to Pakistan in 2007. The PPP leader spent nine years in exile in England. He had obtained British citizenship, however, he gave it up in 2008 for holding public office in Pakistan.

After winning the 2008 General Election, when the PPP formed the federal government, Malik was appointed as the adviser on interior by the then prime minister Yousaf RazaGilani. His position was later upgraded to the interior minister, which was “possibly the worst job in the country at that time,” read a research analysis in Dawn. There were continuous terrorist attacks in Pakistan as well as political killings at that time.