'Disgraced' ex-accountability court judge Arshad Malik dies of Covid-19

ISLAMABAD: Former accountability court judge Arshad Malik, who convicted the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Al-Azizia reference, died of coronavirus on Friday.

He was on ventilator for one week after contracting the coronavirus, his family said on Friday.

The news of Malik's demise was confirmed by his brother-in-law, Waheed Javed. He said that Malik's condition was critical for the last one week, and he had been placed on a ventilator. He added that the former judge was under treatment at a private hospital in Islamabad.

The deceased's funeral prayers will be offered in Mandra - a town of Tehsil Gujar Khan. Malik is survived by two sons and two daughters.

In December 2018, Malik had convicted ex-premier Nawaz Sharif in the Al Azizia reference, sentencing him to seven years in jail. However, he had acquitted Sharif in the Flagship reference.

In July 2020, after a year-long inquiry, the Lahore High Court (LHC)'s administration committee had removed Malik from service on charges of misconduct relating to a video scandal that broke in 2019, and which sent ripples through political and legal circles.

The scandal was brought to limelight by Sharif's daughter, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, who had at the time came forward with the video clips purportedly showing Malik confessing that he had been 'pressured and blackmailed' to convict Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia corruption reference.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020