Rehman Malik has been appointed as an advisor on interior affairs to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, a day after Pakistan Supreme Court suspended former interior minister's membership of Parliament on the grounds of dual nationality.
Rehman Malik, senior advisor to Pakistan prime minister on internal affairs, was on Friday sworn in as a federal minister by President Asif Ali Zardari following his re-election to the Senate weeks after he was forced to step down for his alleged British citizenship.
Rehman Malik, advisor to Pakistan prime minister on interior affairs, was on Monday re-elected as a Senator from Sindh province in the wake of the suspension of his membership of Parliament by the Supreme Court for allegedly having British citizenship.
Visiting Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday but will not have an interaction with Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi.
Rattled by a wave of suicide bombings, the Pakistan government has said that such attacks were perpetrated by people from within the country and not by Indians or Americans, a rare candid statement from authorities.
Talking to media persons in Islamabad, Malik claimed that the military offensive being carried out in the North West Frontier Province's Swat and Malakand Divisions have been successful with the killing of top Taliban commanders.
Ruling out war with India, Pakistan on Monday said it is willing to cooperate in fighting terrorism, a scourge affecting both the countries. "There is need for joint efforts by both Pakistan and India to fight terrorism and we are willing to cooperate with India fully in this regard," Pakistan prime minister's advisor on interior affairs Rehman Malik said.
A Pakistani investigation team probing the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto is reluctant to record the statement of Interior Minister Rehman Malik though he was her security advisor at the time of her killing in 2007, a media report said.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf on Monday withdrew his Rs 220 million defamation suit against fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar after a top government official mediated for a reconciliation between them. The meeting, which took place in Islamabad on Sunday night, was brokered by Rehman Malik, a top man in the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and advisor to the Prime Minister on interior affairs. Both Shoaib and Ashraf were present at the meeting.