Dawn – Arguments completed in memo probe commission

Malik Asad

Islamabad, 5 May 2012. Arguments before the commission investigating the so-called memo scandal for the past four months were concluded on Friday and the commission which is yet to decide matters relating to forensic test of evidence adjourned its proceedings till Saturday.

Soon after the parties concluded their arguments, Zahid Hussain Bokhari, the counsel for former ambassador Husain Haqqani, told reporters that his contract with his client had ended and, therefore, he would not appear in further proceedings of the commission.

In his concluding remarks, advocate Bokhari said that American businessman Mansoor Ijaz wrote an article in the Financial Times in October 2011 when he was sure that the Research in Motion (RIM), the service provider to the BlackBerry company, had deleted the record of exchange of messages.

Mr Ijaz was quick to waive his privacy rights because he knew that RIM had deleted the record. Mr Haqqani, he said, was not aware of this, but still he also waived his privacy rights.

According to the data provided by the businessman, Advocate Bokhari said, Mr Ijaz had made nine calls to his client in May 2011 while Mr Haqqani made two calls to him.

He pointed out that the claim of Mr Ijaz of having taken dictation from Mr Haqqani for drafting the memorandum in a 16-minute telephone call was false because it was not possible to note down the memo consisting of 900 words in this time. The wide range of topic, covering events from 1971 to 2012 and beyond, the Pak-US relations, nuclear assets, political and military relations, and cooperation in the fields of law enforcement, economy and other fields could not be summarised in less than 20 minutes, he added.

He accused Mr Ijaz of sending emails to Mr Haqqani from fake addresses like USA007 and some emails from the address of his son because he wanted Mr Haqqani to delete emails without reading them.

It was his plan to trap Mr Haqqani because he saved emails in order to use them at a proper time, he added.

The businessman, he said, was a critic of the Pakistan army, nuclear programme, Inter Services Intelligence and energy sectors’ initiatives and in the so-called memo controversy, he tried to destabilise the country on the directions of some foreign intelligence agencies.

Deputy Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri supported the arguments of Advocate Bokhari. He said Advocate Sheikh had claimed that his client was a simple businessman although he was engaged in talks in Sudan, Kashmir and other parts of world and had links with about 24 intelligence agencies of the world.He said Mr Ijaz was loyal only to the US and had nothing to do with Pakistan’s interests. Defending the absence of Mr Haqqani, DAG Jahangiri said the former ambassador, due to his ailment, could not attended the proceedings but was ready to be cross-examined via a video link from abroad.

Justice Faez Isa, the head of the commission, remarked that instead of repeating the arguments of Mr Bokhari, the DAG should concentrate on other aspects and should come up with something different.

He said it was not a good sign for the government that its ambassador was showing reluctance to appear in the court and the government had failed to persuade him to record his testimony.

The businessman did not speak against the government of Pakistan and President Asif Ali Zardari, but he spoke in their favour, Justice Isa said and asked the DAG: “Do you think he was wrong?” The DAG did not respond.

Advocate Akram Sheikh, the counsel for Mr Ijaz, told the court that the commission should not extend any favour to Mr Haqqani because he had defied its orders and, despite several summons, did not appear to record his statement.

On the other hand, Mr Haqqani criticised the Supreme Court and the memo commission in the media and even accused the judiciary of delivering biased verdicts, he added.

Referring the Murphy law, evidence act and principles of adverse presumption, Advocate Sheikh said that a fugitive from any inquiry or proceedings could not be entitled to court’s indulgence.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/05/arguments-completed-in-memo-probe-commission/

The Tribune – Pakistan PM’s lawyer charges token fee, but has his terms

Afzal Khan in Islamabad

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan agreed to represent Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for a token fee of Rs 100, but put tough conditions before he agreed to plead for Gilani in the contempt of court case before the Supreme Court.

Foremost of the conditions was to keep at bay people who had engaged in “uncouth” criticism of the judiciary and the judges. The Barrister was clearly referring to PM Gilani’s earlier counsel and former law minister Babar Awan.

“Unlike in the past, when I represented you while you were in jail and charged you no fee, you will pay me a fee by a cheque in the name of ‘Aitzaz Ahsan and Associates’ the sum of Rs 100,” reads the invoice sent by Aitzaz’s law firm to the Prime Minister.

In the invoice issued on January 17, a day after the apex court issued a contempt notice to Gilani for not complying with court orders on NRO implementation, the Barrister first spelt out his conditions: Persons indulging in unpalatable and uncouth criticism of superior courts be restrained, was the first condition. You and I will travel to the courts by ourselves, and in all humility, without a procession of any kind, the Barrister added.

The conditions appear to have been fulfilled for now as Gilani himself drove to the Supreme Court, with his counsel, on January 19. The firebrand former counsel, Babar Awan, was nowhere to be seen.

The payoff has worked for Gilani as well. Aitzaz was able to secure breathing time of two weeks from the court, till February 2, for the next hearing. The court also spared the Prime Minister from appearing in person for the next hearing.

Aitzaz Ahsan, a leading figure in the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of judiciary, had also pleaded the case of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry when the latter was sacked the first time. Barrister Ahsan had also charged Justice Chaudhry a token amount.

In normal cases, however, his fees run into millions. Aitzaz recently admitted taking Rs 15 million as fee from Haris Steel Mills to defend its case in the Lahore High Court.

Besides appearing for the Chief Justice, Aitzaz has been the counsel for former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in the past.

In his invoice-cum-draft agreement with Gilani, the lawyer also spelt out his strategy before taking up the case. “You have always known my position on the basis of which I have continuously advised the government that since the office of the President (whosoever be the incumbent) imparts full immunity to the incumbent, temporarily for the duration of the office, at home and abroad, the writing of the letter would not be of any consequence.”

“Though the letter to Switzerland would not have resulted in a prosecution, you have a defence if you thought it appropriate not to be seen to have set a precedent of pushing the President of our country into a public ordeal before a foreign forum,” he added. This would have amounted to throwing a man into a foreign fire in the belief that he cannot be harmed by domestic fire, said the lawyer.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120123/main6.htm

Dawn – Gilani rules out ‘viceroy security’

Lahore, 23 January 2011. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that American businessman Mansoor Ijaz has been spitting venom against Pakistan, its establishment and governments for a long time.

Mr Ijaz “does not deserve the protocol being sought for him because that will require billions of rupees,” he said while talking to reporters after offering condolences to the family of the world’s youngest IT professional, late Arfa Karim Randhawa, here on Sunday.

The prime minister said providing a security cover at a cost of billions of rupees to the accuser in the memo case during his appearance before an investigation commission would be against the Constitution and law.

He said the security and protocol for Mr Ijaz was being highlighted as if a viceroy or a person more important than the US president was coming to Pakistan.

“The interior ministry, in accordance with the rules of business, will provide security to Mansoor Ijaz and, if required, may call the army or Rangers for assistance to the civil government,” he said.

Mr Ijaz has been summoned by the judicial commission as well as the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.

“I have to assist both. Fairness demands that he should appear before the judicial commission as well as the parliamentary committee.”

The premier said he had referred the case to the parliamentary committee after consultations with the president, the army chief and the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence, but PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif took the matter to the Supreme Court.

He said the memo issue would not pose any threat to the country because Mr Ijaz did not enjoy any credibility.

The prime minister declined to comment on his own appearance before the Supreme Court in a contempt case, saying the matter was sub judice.

He denied reports that Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan had opposed inclusion of PPP leader Babar Awan into the cabinet or had set any condition for becoming his counsel.

He said Nato supplies had been cut off in national interest and recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security about re-engagement with the US would be presented before parliament.

The prime minister said the Pakistan people’s Party wanted to contest the next elections in alliance with its coalition partners.

When asked about Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s remarks that the Sindh and federal governments had failed to maintain law and order in the province, he said thank God the remarks had not been made against the Punjab government.

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/23/gilani-rules-out-viceroy-security.html

The Tribune – Pakistan apex court suspends licence of Zardari’s lawyer

Afzal Khan in Islamabad

The conflict between the Federal Government and the Judiciary in Pakistan escalated today, when the Supreme Court temporarily suspended the licence of Babar Awan, a former Law Minister, who was representing the government and President Zardari in several high-profile cases.

The court had issued contempt notices to Awan after he was accused of using what the court held was extremely derogatory language against the judges after the court ordered an inquiry into ‘Memogate’. When the court issued him a contempt notice he again mocked it by reciting a verse.

Awan today pleaded in court that he was looking for a lawyer to represent him and wanted more time. Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who was presiding over the bench hearing a Presidential reference for revisiting the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s execution case, noted that Awan had been given ‘enough time’ already.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120118/main3.htm

The Tribune – All set for showdown; Under fire, Pakistan PM stands firm; Sticks to his remarks against Army chief Kayani

Afzal Khan & Agencies

Islamabad, January 15 Pakistan today braced itself for a Monday showdown between the elected government and Parliament on the one hand and the Army and the Supreme Court on the other. The jury is still out on whether tomorrow is going to see high-voltage drama or whether it is going to fizzle out into an anti climax.

The week-end had raised hopes of reconciliation, with the Army Chief calling on President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani attending a meeting of the Defence Committee comprising all the top military commanders. But a day after he declared that the armed forces were a ‘pillar of strength’ and guardians of the nation’s security and integrity, a defiant Pakistan Prime Minister on Sunday asserted that he was answerable to the Parliament and not to any individual.

He was replying to a question on media reports that the Army Chief had urged President Zardari to secure a retraction from Gilani on his reported comment that the Army and the ISI chief had acted unconstitutionally by filing affidavits on Memogate without clearing them with the government first.

Significantly, however, Gilani told the media that he had never said that he wanted to serve a full, five-year term. “ All that I had said was that people have given this Parliament a mandate for five years and the Parliament will last its term,” he added, immediately reviving speculation that he could be asked to step down as part of a compromise formula.

But Gilani was firm in reiterating that he stood by what he had said to a Chinese media delegation and that they were not meant as an accusation. The Defence Secretary, he pointed out, had admitted to an ignorance of rules while forwarding the affidavits to the SC and hence was dismissed.

Meanwhile, there were unconfirmed reports that the National Accountability Bureau had written to Swiss authorities with the request to re-open graft cases against President Zardari and others. Zardari has consistently taken the stand that no such letter would be sent to Swiss authorities as long as he remains in office because that would amount to a trial of his wife’s grave. His wife, Benazir Bhutto, had also benefitted from the exemption from prosecution granted by the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Meanwhile, there are reports that Mansoor Ijaz, the American businessman of Pakistani descent, will be flying into Pakistan tomorrow. Reports suggest that he would be flying in a chartered flight, that will land at a military base, from where he would be flown in a helicopter to depose before the Judicial Commission investigating Memogate.

Ijaz had claimed last year that he had delivered a memo on behalf of Pakistan’s government , soliciting US help to rein in the Army. While President Zardari and PM Gilani had denied any role in drafting or delivering the memo, Ijaz insinuated that Pakistan’s then Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, had got in touch with him at the behest of Zardari. Haqqani has resigned since.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120116/main1.htm

The Tribune – Gilani softens, but Kayani wants further climb-down

PM says armed forces are a ‘pillar of nation’s resilience and strength’
Army chief insists on withdrawal of statements critical of military

Islamabad, January 14. Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani tonight appeared to reach out to the army but the powerful Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is reported to have adopted a tough stance and wants withdrawal of his statements critical of the military.

With Kayani by his side, Gilani said today that all state institutions will be allowed to play their role, remarks seen as an attempt to resolve the tense stand-off between the civilian government and the military.

He described the armed forces as a “pillar of nation’s resilience and strength” and lauded their services in the defence of the country.

“It has been my government’s policy to allow and enable all state institutions to play their role in their respective domains for the common good of the people.

“It is this desire to set good and healthy democratic traditions that has enabled us to seek strength from Parliament, which is the hallmark of a democratic government,” Gilani said at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Defence attended by his ministers and top army officials, including Kayani.

The Prime Minister’s seemingly conciliatory remarks came on a day when Kayani met President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidency, in the midst of a tense stand-off between the military and the government over a move purportedly on behalf of Zardari seeking US help to avert an army coup.

There was no official word on the hour-long meeting but media reports said that Kayani told Zardari that he had reservations over Gilani’s criticism of him and the ISI chief over replies submitted to the Supreme Court regarding the memo scandal.

Kayanai reportedly requested the President to direct Gilani to “retract” his statements criticising the chiefs of army and the ISI chief. The situation was further aggravated by the summary sacking of Lt General (retired) Khalid Naeem Lodhi, Defence Secretary, considered close to Kayani over an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court without consulting the government.

The apex court will on Monday hear the case relating to National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that was promulgated during former President Pervez Musharraf’s tenure that gave amnesty to Zardari and many others in graft cases.

The National Assembly, lower house of Parliament, will also meet on Monday to vote on a resolution moved by a ruling coalition member seeking strengthening of democratic institutions.

Media reports said that during his meeting with Zardari, Kayani requested the President to tell Gilani to “retract” his statements criticising the chiefs of army and the ISI.

There was no official word on what transpired in the hour-long meeting.

In his speech today, Gilani said, “National unity is the need of the hour. Democracy provides avenues to forge national consensus.

“Each organ and state institution has to play its due role, within its respective domain, to bring forth the best in promoting Pakistan’s national interest.” At the same time, he pointed out that civil institutions “have their due role to play for socio-economic development and for ensuring progress and prosperity”.

He said: “Together in complete harmony with each other and other vital institutions, we can change the country’s destiny and accord its rightful place in the comity of nations.” (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120115/main1.htm

Dawn – Defence secretary Naeem Lodhi sacked

Islamabad, 12 January 2012. Wednesday evening saw high drama as the army warned the prime minister of “grievous consequences” for his allegations against the Chief of Army Staff and the ISI spymaster and the government struck back by sacking the defence secretary. However as night fell, sanity prevailed with the news of telephone conversation between Yousuf Raza Gilani and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

Talking to reporters, the prime minister said General Kayani had spoken to him before ISPR, the military’s public affairs wing, issued a rejoinder to the former’s interview with China’s People’s Daily Online.

He didn’t share details of his conversation with the army chief, but it was interesting to note that both the ISPR statement and the subsequent notification about the sacking of defence secretary Lieutenant-General Naeem Khalid Lodhi had one element in common — both held General Lodhi responsible for the snafu.

But this did not mean an end to the crisis in troubled civil-military ties that started with the ‘memogate’ and all eyes are now on the National Assembly’s Thursday session.

The ISPR statement, whose subsequent television reporting was garnished with gimmicky comments, denied that the army chief and the ISI director general acted “unconstitutionally and illegally” while filing their replies in memo issue and noted that Mr Gilani’s allegations could have “very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country”.

Beyond that, ISPR said: “The responses by the respondents were sent to the Ministry of Defence for onward submission to the Honourable Supreme Court, through Attorney General (Law Ministry)”. And that: “Responsibility for moving summaries and obtaining approvals of competent authority thereafter lay with the relevant ministries and not with the respondents.”

This was much similar to the position taken by the government while notifying termination of General Lodhi’s services.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement: “General Lodhi was dismissed for gross misconduct and illegal action … and for creating misunderstanding between institutions.”

The government gave additional charge of the defence ministry to Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi. The new defence secretary happens to be the first woman bureaucrat to lead the ministry — a position that in the past was mostly occupied by retired generals.

Mr Gilani further explained: “Under the rules of business, the defence secretary did not get the summary in writing or sought confirmation from the minister and bypassed the Ministry of Law and Justice and sent a copy of replies to the attorney general and also sent the reply directly to the Supreme Court registrar.” He said General Lodhi had been removed after “thoroughly investigating the matter”, adding that the former defence secretary had himself conceded that he did not get the replies approved by the defence minister or the attorney general.

“And he has written himself that neither the minister nor the attorney general was available. We have nothing against anybody.”

General Lodhi, who took over as the defence secretary on November 28 last year, was considered to be a close confidant of General Kayani.

Along came the news of appointment of a new 111 Brigade Commander, which sent adrenaline pumping through the veins of all those who had been anxiously watching the situation because this brigade had in the past remained associated with coups d’etat.

Some took it as a clear signal that the military was thinking of overthrowing the government, but ISPR once again stepped in with a clarification that the change was a routine posting matter because the former commander had been posted out as General Officer Commanding Lahore following his promotion to the rank of major general.

Moreover, it was widely rumoured that General Kayani, following the troubling developments, had convened a meeting of his senior aides at the GHQ known by their designation as principal staff officers.

That too, an ISPR official later said, was not happening.

All happened a day after the Supreme Court set into motion a slow coup by warning that it could act against the president and the prime minister for failing to revive high-profile corruption cases.

Even as the army insists that it is being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy between the Supreme Court and the government, there are few takers and it is believed the apex court’s activism was backed by the military, which always felt uncomfortable working with the PPP leadership.(BSS)

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/12/defence-secretary-naeem-lodhi-sacked.html

Dawn – Kayani, Pasha acted illegally, says Gilani

Islamabad, 10 January 2012. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani once again on Monday took what appeared to be a potshot at the military when he said affidavits submitted to the Supreme Court by the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha on `memogate` were `unconstitutional and illegal`.

In an interview with the People`s Daily Online of China, which was released by the official Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, Mr Gilani said since the COAS and ISI DG had submitted their replies to the court without seeking approval of the competent authority under the rules of business, the statements carried no legal import.

`No summary seeking approval of the competent authority was initiated by the ministry of defence nor was any approval obtained from the defence minister,` the prime minister was quoted as saying by the APP.

The media wing of the prime minister`s secretariat confirmed the statement.

Soon after the APP released excerpts of the interview, it was picked by major news search engines and online editions of newspapers all over the world.

Some saw it as an obvious reference to the ongoing tension between the government and the military establishment.

However, legal experts said it was too late on part of the prime minister to take this stand as the court had already set up a three-member commission to investigate the memo case.

Salman Akram Raja, a Supreme Court lawyer, said: `I don`t think it`s going to make any impact on the investigations which the commission is carrying out into the memo case.

The government should have clarified its position it had nothing to do with the statements made by General Kayani and General Pasha in replies submitted to the court. But the government didn`t do so, said Mr Raja.

The lawyer, however,added it was not clear whether the COAS and ISI DG could go to the court in their individual capacities, as said by Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq.

They forwarded their statements through the attorney general, Mr Raja recalled, adding that as individuals they should have hired their own counsel to deal with the Supreme Court.

The Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Athar Abbas, wasn`t available to comment on the development.

According to APP, the prime minister was referring to an observation by the Chief Justice of Pakistan that any act of a government functionary without the government`s nod was unconstitutional and illegal.

Apparently, Mr Gilani was quoting from remarks made by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry during a meeting on November 22 with a delegation of the National Defence University: `Any action of the armed forces taken without a direction by the federal government would be unconstitutional, illegal, void ab initio and consequently of no legal effect.However, it should be noted that this is not the first time that the prime minister has lashed out at the military establishment. He backtracked on all occasions.

In an address to the National Assembly on December 22, he astounded observers by using harsh words against the military.

He said no one would be allowed to run a `state within a state` and also wondered who had given a visa to Osama bin Laden.

But within days, in an attempt to calm down frayed tempers, Prime Minister Gilani clarified his remarks about ‘state within a state` He said his statement was aimed at Defence Secretary Khalid Naeem Lodhi, who, in a written statement submitted to the apex court last month, had said the ministry had no operational control over the army and the ISI and only looked after their administrative affairs.

President Asif Zardari, during an interview with a private television on January 7, tried to further clarify Mr Gilani`s statement about Osama`s visa. He said the premier was referring to former president Pervez Musharraf, and not the sitting military leadership.

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/10/army-isi-chief-statements-to-sc-not-approved-by-govt-pm.html

The Tribune – Pakistan showdown imminent; ‘Memogate’ parallel probes: Zardari will accept only House panel verdict

Afzal Khan in Islamabad

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari today broke his silence on ‘Memogate’ swirling around his government saying he would only accept the verdict of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, heavily loaded with members of the ruling coalition, which is looking into the issue.

The assertion, in a late evening telecast on Geo TV, placed him in the eye of a fresh political storm as it implied that he had no confidence in the Judicial Commission set up by the Supreme Court to look into the scandal.

The 17-member parliamentary panel that has also initiated a parallel probe into the scandal has 12 members from the ruling coalition and only five from the opposition PML-N. There is no tradition in Pakistani politics of lawmakers taking an independent position in defiance of the party line.

Both the army and the judiciary had taken a serious view of the alleged memo, by which the civilian government had sought help from the United States to foil a military coup believed imminent after the government criticised the army for not being alert enough to the presence of Osama Bin Laden under its very nose. Zardari is accused of offering to purge the present military leadership and allowing the US to monitor Pakistan’s nuclear assets. He has denied the allegations.

Although Zardari said in the course of the interview “we have no war with the court, why should we have a war with the army”, his statement that he deemed Parliament to be supreme and not the judiciary, set the stage for a fresh confrontation with the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had indicated in open court that he believed the Supreme Court to be better placed to inquire into a case like Memogate. President Zardari has so far refused to file any statement to the Judicial Commission, which had called upon him to submit his views in writing.

Zardari has defied notices issued by the SC and the Judicial Commission claiming he enjoys immunity from any court proceedings. The government has also reaffirmed it would not implement court directives to write to Swiss authorities seeking reopening of money laundering cases against the President.

President Zardari said he had allowed safe exit to former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, spurning demands for his trial because it could have a demoralising effect on the army. He, however, did not rule out such possibility today, stating that if he were to do it now, the parliament would have the final word.

Referring to criticism that Prime Minister Gilani had insinuated ISI’s complicity while questioning who could have issued a visa to Osama bin Laden, the President said that Gilani had alluded to Musharraf. Zardari insisted that Gilani enjoyed full powers of chief executive and denied any interference in government’s functioning.

On the court’s directive for writing a letter to Swiss authorities, Zardari said it was the party’s decision not to send the letter because it believed that such a letter would be tantamount to the trial of Benazir Bhutto’s grave. He said he would not be President after some period and anyone who wanted to try him was free to do that then.

Interviewed by Hamid Mir, Zardari also confirmed that the general election could be held in October this year, adding that he was ready to hold talks with Nawaz Sharif on all issues, including his demand for early elections.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120108/main1.htm

The Tribune – Pakistan Supreme Court orders probe into memogate; Overrides government’s contention of inquiry by a parliamentary panel

Islamabad, December 30. In a major setback to Pakistan’s embattled leadership, the Supreme Court today ordered a time-bound investigation into the memo scandal, overriding the government’s contention that the issue should be probed by a parliamentary panel.

A nine-judge bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry gave its ruling after hearing arguments by the government’s law officers and several petitioners, including opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who had asked the apex court to probe the ‘memogate’ scandal.

“The court has established a commission for the investigation into the memo case. The Chief Justice of the Baluchistan High Court will lead this commission,” Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq told reporters outside the court.

The three-member commission was asked to complete its probe within four weeks. “The commission shall be exercising all the powers of judicial officers for the purpose of carrying out (the probe) and it shall be free to avail services of advocates, experts of forensic science and cyber crimes,” the apex court said in its order.

The apex court directed all federal secretaries, including the Interior Secretary, Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Secretary, the Chief Secretaries of all provinces, the head of the Federal Investigation Agency, provincial police chiefs and Pakistan’s envoys to the US and Britain to provide assistance to the commission.

The court’s decision is expected to increase pressure on the weak civilian government and beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari, who has been linked to the memo that was delivered to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen by Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz.

Pakistan’s political system was caught in whirlpool on October 10 after Ijaz wrote in the Financial Times that a senior Pakistani diplomat had asked that a memo be delivered to the Pentagon.

Ijaz claimed that Zardari feared the military might overthrow his government and accused former envoy to US Husain Haqqani of crafting the memo with the President’s support. Both Zardari and Haqqani had rejected the allegations.

The scandal had exposed the deep fissures between the Pakistani civilian government and the powerful army. Haqqani was forced to resign over the issue.

The apex court directed the commission to “ascertain the origin, authenticity and purpose of creating/drafting of memo for delivering it to Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, through Gen (retired) James Logan Jones, former US National Security Advisor”.

The court further directed the Attorney General to contact the Canadian firm Research in Motion to confirm the “veracity and authenticity” of communications on BlackBerry phones between Ijaz and Haqqani.

“This confirmation may be obtained at the earliest and in order to save and protect the forensic evidence and to scrutinise the same, it should be produced before the commission,” the order said.

Noting that Ijaz and Haqqani had exchanged 85 BBMs, voice calls and emails, the apex court said these communications “form the most important piece of evidence regarding purported contacts between the two for the purposes of drafting the alleged memo”.

The apex court had barred Haqqani from travelling out of Pakistan when it began hearing the petitions on December 1 and the bench said this order would remain in place. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111231/main4.htm