Summary National Database Registration Authority Chairman Tariq Malik resigned from his office on Jan 10th.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Interior Ministry spokesperson has rejected media impression that Chairman NADRA Tariq Malik resigned due to the pressure.
National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Tariq Malik resigned from his office on January 10.
According to sources, Tariq Malik sent his resignation to the Prime Minister House and mentioned in it that he served honestly and with dedication and was tendering his resignation in the best interest of the organization.
The sources added that Tariq Malik was under extreme pressure by the Ministry of Interior
Tariq Malik joined National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) as information technology (IT) professional in 2008. He also served as deputy chairman of NADRA.
He was appointed as NADRA chairman in 2012 but the Ministry of Interior sacked him on December 2, 2013. Malik moved Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his removal and the court restored him.
According to sources, vote verification issue during general elections 2013 was the main reason behind Tariq Malik s removal. He was also under pressure regarding vote verification process in NA-118 constituency of Lahore.
Pakistan Muslim Leagu-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Malik Riaz Hussain was declared successful in NA-118, whereas, his opponent Hamid Zaman from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) had filed a request to the election tribunal to verify the votes.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) summoned the NADRA chairman on December 31 after initiating an inquiry against him.
Tariq Malik was asked to file his reply about the allegations of irregularities in NADRA under his administration but he did not appear before the inquiry committee and termed it as part of smear campaign against him.
The FIA had started probing about the interior ministry’s show-cause notice and charge-sheet prepared by the audit authorities.
Interior ministry, in the last week of December, had issued a four-page show-cause notice to Tariq Malik, levelling against him charges of concealing the facts, misuse of official powers and financial irregularities.
Malik had said the issue of his sacking was being heard in the Islamabad High Court, but the interior minister chose to level “baseless allegations” at a press conference.
On December 12, Malik had insisted that no rules were violated upon his assumption of office, dismissing a government claim that his appointment was illegal.
The Supreme Court (SC) had directed Islamabad High Court (IHC) on December 10 to settle the case in a month.
Forwarding the government’s request challenging the reinstatement, the apex court had also ordered the IHC to make a decision regarding its stay order in 15 days. The opposition parties had also united against the government’s decision of sacking Tariq Malik.
According to sources, an audit team had prepared a charge sheet against the NADRA chief on the wishes of Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
The sources further said that Tariq Malik stated in the letter that he was quitting the office due to personal reasons.
On the other hand, on January 13 Islamabad High Court declared the appointment of National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) chairman Tariq Malik as per law and announced that government s notification regarding his dismissal stands null and void.
IHC judge, Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi announced the decision on petitions pertaining to the appointment and dismissal of Tariq Malik as NADRA chairman.
“After coming back from vacations I learnt there have been a lot of changes,” Justice Qureshi stated, referring to Malik’s resignation.
