Rehman Malik takes oath as senator

Islamabad: Rehman Malik, advisor to Pakistani prime minister on interior affairs, Friday took oath as a senator, weeks after he was forced to step down over his alleged British citizenship. Malik was elected unopposed in a by-election from the same seat that he held prior to his June suspension, paving the way for him to be reconfirmed as a cabinet minister, Geo TV reported. The senate is the upper house of Parliament. [caption id=“attachment_394683” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rehman Malik. Reuters[/caption] The Supreme Court suspended Malik from Parliament on 4 June for allegedly running for the Senate in 2009 while still holding British citizenship. The constitution bars MPs from acquiring foreign citizenship. Documents submitted to the court failed to convince judges that he had renounced his dual nationality before being elected. Malik was appointed the prime minister’s advisor on interior affairs, effectively allowing him to keep his interior ministry job. The by-election was held in Karachi. IANS