20 British MPs write to CJP for justice

LONDON: Twenty cross-party British parliamentarians have written to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Saqib Nisar, requesting for justice in British Pakistani Barrister Fahad Malik’s murder case.

A letter has been signed and sent by twenty MPs from Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats to the Human Rights Cell of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Islamabad. The letter was originated by Afzal Khan MP, Labour MP from Manchester and supported by parliamentarians from other parties, including independent House of Lords member Lord Nazir Ahmed.

The powerful letter has been marked also for the attention of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Farogh Nasim, Minister of Law. The British parliamentarians wrote the letter after meeting the deceased’s brother, Jawad Malik, who is a British Pakistani entrepreneur based between London and Islamabad. Jawad Malik has held several meetings with MPs in the parliament in pursuit of his brother’s murder case. These include Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Jack Bremerton MP, Lord Qurban Hussain, Julie Cooper MP, Judith Cummins MP, Lord Nazir Ahmed, Gill Furnis MP, Alex Norris MP, Debbie Abrahams MP, Khalid Mahmood MP, Vernon Coaker MP, Faisal Rashid MP, Stephen Timms MP, Naz Shah MP, Pausal Sheriff MP, Liam Byrne MP, John Grogan MP, Tony Lloyd MP, Muhammad Yasin MP and Afzal Khan MP.

The letter appeals to the CJP: “We, the British Parliamentarians, write to you in respect of the Barrister Fahad Malik murder case. As you may be aware, the deceased, a British citizen, while discharging his professional duties, was brutally murdered right in the heart of the capital.” It mentioned that Fahad Malik was killed in the heart of Islamabad by powerful gangsters and FIR No. 239/2016 was lodged at Shalimar Police Station F-10 Islamabad but Anti-Terrorism Court No. 1 passed an order removing terrorism clauses and transferring the case to the courts of ordinary jurisdiction.

“Thereafter, due to the persistence and perseverance of the family of the deceased, over the course of eighteen months, the case was transferred back to Anti-Terrorist Court by a Division Bench of Islamabad High Court in July 2018, with a direction to conclude the trial within 60 days.” The parliamentarians wrote that they “have been following this case of murder of our fellow citizen quite closely”.

The letter added: “We have received complaints from many British Pakistanis who have faced similar issues of delay in justice in Pakistan. There have been incidents of honour killings of Britons, incidents of kidnap for ransom and murder cases taking years to resolve. The list is long. Accordingly, we beseech your kind self, to please take serious notice of this matter as well as other cases. Without your notice, oversea Pakistanis confidence in the delivery of justice in Pakistan will continue to erode.”

During the Chief Justice’s visit to the UK three weeks ago, the issue of Barrister Fahad Malik’s killing was raised by a group of British MPs. Naz Shah MP had drawn attention of the CJP towards the Briton’s killing in Islamabad. The CJP had remarked that there has been a delay and stressed that he himself had taken notice of this case and instructed that the matter be finalised in a month.

The Chief Justice Saqib Nisar said that he called the anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge to the Supreme Court and asked him about the delays in Fahad Malik’s case. The CJP had assured that justice will be done and acknowledged that Pakistan greatly valued overseas Pakistanis.

Afzal Khan MP said that he had met Jawad Malik in the parliament. He appreciated Jawad Malik’s persistence and perseverance while seeking justice for his brother. Jawad Malik has been consistently pursuing the case through courts and at public advocacy level.