KARACHI – With no other candidates vying for a Senate seat fallen vacant on July 10, the Sindh Election Commission on Monday re-elected Rehman Malik as senator following the scrutiny of his nomination papers.

The announcement of Election Commissioner Sono Khan Baloch will perch Malik in the seat that he himself resigned from earlier this month.
Interacting with the media outside the election commissioner office, Malik thanked President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and the PPP for keeping faith in him. He also thanked MQM chief Altaf Hussain, leaders of the PML-F and PML-Q for their support to his candidature. He expressed gratitude to Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, chief of the PML-Q Likeminded, a breakaway faction of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain-led PML-Q, for assuring him of his unopposed victory and considerable response to his phone call.
Malik, however, came down hard on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, asking him to avoid vicious maneuvering aimed to oust the democratically-elected government. “The PPP will last its term, come what may,” asserted Malik as he accused the PML-N of conspiring against the ruling PPP.
To a media query, the former minister said three FIRs against Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah of the PML-N were still lodged with the Faisalabad Police. He predicated that Sanauallh might defect from the PML-N to join Imran Khan’s PTI.
Malik, nevertheless, called on all parliamentary parties for legislation allowing dual nationality holders to contest elections.
Earlier, Malik, who is also the prime minister’s adviser on interior, was congratulated by Sindh Law Minister Muhammad Ayaz Soomro of the ruling PPP, MQM leaders Raza Haroon and Sagheer Ahmed and other lawmakers accompanying him to the office of the provincial election commissioner.
Later, Malik headed into talks with Qaim Ali Shah at the Chief Minister’s House. PPP leader Senator Islamuddinn Shaikh was also present on the occasion.  The chief minister felicitated Malik over his re-election, and termed it a success of the Pakistan People’s Party which, according to him, had been serving the people under the vision of former slain premier Benazir Bhutto and policies of PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari. He observed that almost all parties in the Sindh Assembly cooperated with the PPP to get Malik elected as senator.
Qaim Shah also lauded the role of Malik for law and order in Sindh, particularly in the metropolis of Karachi, saying his efforts to this effect were commendable.
10 suspects netted in raids: Police claimed to have arrested 10 alleged criminals in targeted actions in Sohrab Goth and Maripur area on Monday.
Over half a dozen suspects were apprehended in a raid in 500-Quarters and Ali village. Law enforcers also claimed to have recovered weapons and narcotics from them.
According to SHO Shafiq Tanoli, the raid was conducted to arrest two notorious target killers, namely Mohammad Shah and Mehram Rustam, who were wanted to the police in over 25 cases of killings. The SHO said that six more suspects were also apprehended during the operation, adding that the arrested culprits had no affiliation with any group, but they were paid killers.
In Sohrab Goth, a police raiding team arrested Tariq Gul and his companion in a raid on Jannat Gul Town.
DSP Iftikhar Lodhi said that two pistols were also seized from them, adding that Tariq was the grandson of Jannat Gul and had a hand in the killing of four people and wounding several others in a clash with his rival group in Sohrab Goth on the first day of Ramazan.
Raids are being conducted for the arrest of his other companions.