Islamabad:
In a jolt to Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the country's Supreme Court today suspended him from the membership of Parliament on the ground that he had failed to provide proof of renouncing his British citizenship.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry issued the interim order while hearing a petition challenging the dual nationality of several members of the two Houses of Parliament.
The bench had earlier given 60-year-old Malik time till today to produce a declaration issued by the UK Border Agency regarding the renunciation of his British citizenship.
Mr Malik's counsel submitted various documents and declarations to the Supreme Court but did not furnish the declaration from the UK Border Agency.
The counsel was given a final opportunity to provide the document by this afternoon.
When the bench assembled after a recess of an hour, Mr Malik's counsel again failed to submit the declaration. The court then issued the interim order suspending his membership of the Senate or Upper House of Parliament.
The Supreme Court asked Mr Malik to prove by the next hearing on June 13 that he was not a British citizen when he contested polls to the Senate in 2008.
If he is unable to do so, the court will take further action against him, the order said. The interim order, however, did not state whether Malik could continue as the Interior Minister.
Legal experts said Mr Malik could not function as a minister after the suspension of his membership of Parliament. In the past, he had functioned as a Special Advisor on Interior to the Prime Minister before being elected to the Senate.
Referring to documents submitted by Malik's counsel, the court had pointed out that one declaration stated Mr Malik had renounced his British citizenship in March 2008 while another stated this was done in April 2008.
The court acted against Mr Malik on the basis of Article 63 (1c) of the Constitution, which states that a person will be disqualified as a member of Parliament if he or she "acquires the citizenship of a foreign state".
Mr Malik had acquired British citizenship while living in self-exile in the UK in the 1990s.
He reportedly has a controlling interest in some businesses in Britain, including a private security firm.
The Supreme Court also issued notices today to 14 other parliamentarians, including Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and senior PML-N leader Khwaja Asif, who have dual nationality.
They have been asked to respond to the notices by June 13.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had suspended the membership of Parliament of Farahnaz Ispahani, the media advisor to President Asif Ali Zardari, for holding US citizenship.
During today's hearing, Attorney General Irfan Qadir objected to the action taken by the apex court.
He said the court should refer the matter to the executive authority as it does not have the power to take action against lawmakers with dual nationality.