Former accountability judge Arshad Malik passes away from Covid-19

Former accountability judge Arshad Malik has passed away in Islamabad after contracting the coronavirus, his family said on Friday.

The news of Malik’s demise was confirmed by his brother-in-law, Waheed Javed. Speaking to Dawn.com, Javed said Malik’s condition was critical for the past two days and he had been placed on the ventilator.

He added that the former judge was under treatment at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.

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.

But in July 2020, after a year-long inquiry, the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) 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 the limelight by Sharif’s daughter, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, who had at the time come forward with video clips purportedly showing Malik confessing that he had been “pressured and blackmailed” to convict Nawaz Sharif in the Al Azizia corruption reference.