Malik Mohammad Qayyum

ISLAMABAD: Justice (retd) Malik Mohammad Qayyum, the man who has served many masters, has now reached Dubai apparently to escape an action directed by the Supreme Court against him for writing an unauthorised letter to the Swiss authorities for withdrawing cases against Asif Zardari.

Qayyum left Pakistan shortly before the detailed judgment of the court on the NRO. When would he return, only he knows. ‘The Statesmen’ tried many times to ask him as to when he would return but each time his answer was the same: “Coming tomorrow”.

When confronted during the conversation held last time on Thursday night about his standard response of “coming tomorrow”, which always turned out to be false, Qayyum came up with the answer: “I put off the departure plan at the eleventh hour for I felt unwell.”

Asked if his stay abroad was intended to escape the long arm of the law, Qayyum denied having such fears in mind. He, however, confirmed that he had left Pakistan shortly before the detailed judgment but said he didn’t do it out of fear. Qayyum has a checkered professional and personal history. He kept changing the masters under the doctrine of necessity. Qayyum was considered Nawaz Sharif’s man in his heydays. He defended and offended Sharif in different times and is now in his bad books.

Later, he became a blue-eyed boy of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, did his service ‘par excellence’ to the extent of withdrawing the cases against Zardari from the Swiss Courts. Qayyum and the PPP have a long history of love-hate relationship. His father, Justice (retd) Akram, was among those who awarded death sentence to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Qayyum’s order convicting Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari in money laundering case in SGS Cotecna case in March 1999, forced Ms Bhutto to go into self-exile. The judgment was later set aside by the Supreme Court after the tape scandal disclosing his verdict was based on dictations he received from Sharif brothers.

Qayyum also faced unceremonious removal from the judgeship. Exactly 10 years later in March 2009, it was the same Malik Qayyum who wrote in his capacity as attorney general to his Swiss counterpart, requesting the withdrawal of SGS Cotecna cases being examined by a Swiss Court. Contending the withdrawal of cases, he wrote that the cases were politically motivated by the previous regime.

Now it is a strange twist of fate that Asif Zardari-led government has been directed by the Supreme Court to take action against his benefactor, Qayyum. Pervez Malik, his younger brother, who previously won the National Assembly seat twice on the PML-N ticket was denied ticket this time because of his brother.

Qayyum’s sister, Yasmeen Rehman, who was previously elected on reserved seat by PPP last time, has not made way to the present National Assembly. Qayyum himself is treated as a ‘dalit’ by his previous masters. Sharifs don’t want his comeback; Musharraf doesn’t need him as his own comeback is virtually impossible and Zardari can’t keep him after the court verdict directing his government to take action against him.