Malik Mohammad Qayyum

Malik Mohammad Qayyum (born January 18, 1944), Senior Advocate Supreme Court, is the former Attorney General of Pakistan, who was replaced with Senator Latif Khosa when President Pervez Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008.^[1][2] He became Attorney General following the resignation of Makhdoom Ali Khan.^[3] He is a former Judge of the Lahore High Court, which he resigned from after a phone transcript of his was released in which he was alleged to be approached by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government to fix judgement in a case before him involving Benazir Bhutto. Mr Qayyum denied that the voice in the telephone conversation was his. Agencies have examined the tapes and have expressed their concern that they could have been doctored although no final verdict is available.

He is one of the most senior lawyers of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and has advised the sitting benches of the Higher Judiciary on numerous constitutional issues. He was responsible for conducting the inquiry into match fixing which was lauded by the ICC known as the "Qayyum Report".

Malik M Qayyum has been a professional lawyer but unluckily was dragged in controversy when he was judge of the Lahore High Court. During the second stint of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (1997-99), the then Chief of Ehtesab [Accountability] Cell, Saif ur Rehman, managed to place certain cases against their political opponents belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party [PPP], including all high profile cases of alleged corruption of former premier Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, before Justice Malik M Qayyum. All pre-arrest bails were rejected, temporary injunctions were terminated and permissions of FIRs were granted against PPP-connected persons and senior officers - all jobs accomplished by J Malik Qayyum. He was a nominated judge on Ehtesab Bench of the Lahore High Court. The PPP raised hue and cry in media, labelled J Malik Qayyum as biased, more because his real brother, Pervez Malik, was a sitting MNA from PM Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League. Pervez Malik was given an unopposed seat of the National Assembly vacated by the Prime Minister himself from Lahore.^[4]

Malik Qayyum was also recorded as saying that the Pakistani general election, 2008 was going to be rigged . Qayyum March 10, 2008 rejected a plan by opposition lawmakers to reinstate the country's ousted Supreme Court justices within 30 days of parliament's first session, because President Musharraf's dismissal of the judges was legal under the constitution.^[5]

Malik Qayyum is the son of Justice (retired) Muhammad Akram and Brother of Dr Mian Javed Akram (PIMS)& Pervaiz Malik (MNA) Lahore.^[6]

References

1. "Court rules on Pakistan 'missing'", BBC News, August 6, 2007
2. "Pakistan court drama of Sharif case", BBC News, August 23, 2007
3. Malik Muhammad Qayyum assumes charge as Attorney General for Pakistan - Associated press of Pakistan
4. 'Judges & Generals in Pakistan Vol-III' [2013] PP 997-998; GHP Surrey UK
6. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C04%5C04%5Cstory_4-4-2008_pg7_25