Imprisoned terrorist Yasin Malik's wife Mushaal Hussein Malik has been appointed as the Special Advisor to caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Human Rights and Women Empowerment.
Mushaal Malik will not become a full minister under Kakar's caretaker Cabinet but will work as a special assistant for the interim PM. She belongs from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and married Yasin Malik in 2009.
Mushal Malik, a graduate of London School of Economics, is the daughter of former secretary general of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Women's Wing and international economist Hussein Malik. She lives with her 12-year-old daughter Raziyah Sultana in Islamabad, as per Pakistani media.
It is worth mentioning that the 57-year-old Yasin Malik has been charged with terror funding in 2017 and arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2019. He was sentenced to life imprisonment last year.
Yasin Malik is accused of kidnapping former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's daughter Rubaiya Sayeed in exchange for the release of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Ghulam Nabi Butt. He is also accused of killing Indian Air Force officers in 1990.
Earlier this year, the NIA sought the death penalty against the separatist leader. The agency in its appeal said that the crime committed by such dreaded terrorists, where due to their ‘act of war’, the nation has lost its valuable soldiers and has perpetrated irreparable grief not only to the family members of the soldiers but to the entire nation.
His presence at the Supreme Court last month shocked many people, with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta calling it "a serious security lapse" as his high-profile nature meant that he could have escaped, taken away or killed.
Pakistan caretaker PM's cabinet takes oath
The 24-member interim Cabinet took oath at President Arif Alvi's official residence at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. The ceremony was attended by Intermin Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, politicians and prominent figures, Geo News reported.
According to a document, the newly-inducted interim Cabinet of Pakistan includes 16 federal ministers, five special assistants and three advisers. The report said that the ministers who took oath included former diplomat Jalil Abbas Jilani, economist Shamshad Akhtar, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) Senator Sarfaraz Bugti, industrialist Gohar Ejaz, academic Umar Saif, senior journalist Murtaza Solangi, former bureaucrat Shahid Ashraf Tarar, Jamal Shah, public health professional Nadeem Jan, Aneeq Ahmed, Muhammad Sami, Ahmed Irfan, and Anwar Ali Haider.
The caretaker prime minister Kakar has convened a maiden session of his cabinet on Friday.
(with inputs from agencies)
