Munir A. Malik is a prominent Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

i lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and key leader of the Lawyers' Movement

Lawyers' Movement

The Lawyers' Movement was the name given to the popular mass protest movement started by the lawyers of Pakistan in response to the dictatorial actions of 9 March 2007, by the country's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, when he unconstitutionally sacked Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the Chief...

 in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. He is the former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan

Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan

The Supreme Court Bar Association is a legal body comprising the supreme court lawyers in Pakistan. It is currently headed by Asma Jahangir. Ms. Jahangir has been a leading human rights activist and lawyer in South Asia...

 (SCBA). He was the leader of the legal defense team of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is the current Chief Justice of Pakistan.He became chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court in 2005 and soon became not only a central figure in the nation's political struggles but an icon to the country's legal profession and others campaigning for the rule of law...

 when the latter was dismissed by general Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...

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Arrest

Malik was arrested after Musharraf declared a state of emergency. He was initially admitted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences is located in Islamabad, Pakistan. Objectives of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences are to provide a tertiary level patient care and serve as referral hospital and also to conduct teaching and training of doctors and other health workers at various level...

 on 25 November 2007, seriously ill and under treatment for kidney failure requiring dialysis. He was transferred to Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi, where he still requires renal replacement therapy in the form of hemodialysis

Hemodialysis

In medicine, hemodialysis is a method for removing waste products such as creatinine and urea, as well as free water from the blood when the kidneys are in renal failure. Hemodialysis is one of three renal replacement therapies .Hemodialysis can be an outpatient or inpatient therapy...

. Some reports indicate that he has developed liver dysfunction also. He complained about psychological abuse.

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...

 has expressed concern about Malik's health and has blamed the government. He has criticized government to deny him of access to clean drinking water when he was under arrest in Attock jail. However, the doctors at the Pakistan Institute of Sciences (PIMS) conducted a toxicology screen and ruled out any foul play. The Pakistan government reportedly has denied any role in Munir's illness and has attributed it to chronic alcoholism resulting in cirrhosis of the liver and subsequent liver-kidney failure. Munir Malik has not pursued any charges against an individual or the Pakistani government and neither has sought an independent medical opinion.

Role in reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

After the suspension and arrest of Iftikhar Chaudhry on 9 March 2007, Muneer Malik was one of the first people to contact him and assure the unconditional support of lawyers. The same day, Malik declared, "This is a callous conspiracy of the highest order against superior judiciary."

For his role in the lawyers' movement he has been decorated with a number of awards, including the Dorab Patel Rule of Law Award conferred by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the Human Rights Defender Award of the Asian Human Rights Commission that he shared with successor as President SCBA, Aitzaz Ahsan and the 2008 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

The Gwangju Prize for Human Rights is an award given by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation to recognize "individuals, groups or institutions in Korea and abroad that have contributed in promoting and advancing human rights, democracy and peace through their work." The award is intended to...

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Attempt on his life

On 10 May 2007, Muneer A. Malik was watching TV at 3:00 am at his home in DHA when he heard bullets being fired that hit the upper portion of his house where his son and other family members were present. Windows of his house were broken and bullets signs were present outside the wall of his house as well as inside the home. His daughter and his family members remained safe.

External links

• paklaw.com
• http://recap.fednet.net/archive/Buildasx.asp?sProxy=80_hflr111407_002.wmv&sTime=00:02:49.0&eTime=00:04:07&duration=00:01:19.0&UserName=pedro&Location=&sExpire=1