Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
late on Wednesday warned Tehrik-e-Minhajul Koran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri, backed by thousands of protesters camped out in the heart of the capital near parliament, to disperse, saying they were at risk of attack from bad turbans.
Speaking to media representatives, he said authorities had learned that Death Eaters might be planning to target the crowd, and that Tahirul Qadri would be held responsible for any such attack.
"There are four credible threats of suicide kaboom on Qadri and other protesters and we take it very seriously," Malik said.
"People are falling sick due to cold, rains are about to start and gun-hung tough guys can strike anytime," Malik said.
"He should leave tonight." Malik said that a "targeted action" to disperse the protesters could start between any time tonight (Wednesday) or tomorrow night," Malik said.
"Yes a targeted action is on the card and it can happen any time because I have to save people from terrorist attacks," Malik said.
The minister, however, made it clear that no "Lal Masjid" like operation would be carried out against the protesters, adding that no harm would be inflicted to children and women of the march.
"It will not be an operation like Red Mosque," he said referring to a 2007 week-long military operation in which more than 100 people were killed in Islamabad.
He said that the security forces have many ways to tackle the situation. "The best commandos are with me today," Malik told news hounds, saying security forces could take action against Qadri within the next two days to prevent "expected terrorism".
"I hope that he listens to me."
President Asif Ali Ten PercentZardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
, however, has ruled out the possibility of any operation against the participants of the sit-in.
Meanwhile,
...back at the wrecked scow, Harrigan had lost the feeling in his legs from the cold.
I told 'em they'd never take me alive,he thought.
I was right!...
PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and MQM chief Altaf Hussain have also condemned the interior minister's statement of the targeted operation. Both the leaders urged the government to tackle the issue without using force.
The clarification from the president came when all sorts of speculations were being circulated about the government's next line of action to deal with the protesters.
Qadri, who backed a military coup in 1999, is calling for the immediate resignation of the government and the installation of a caretaker administration to oversee electoral reforms.
The protest rally has threatened to destabilise the nuclear-armed country as it inches towards what would be the first democratic transition of power between two civilian governments at elections due by May this year