Pakistani court admits former envoy’s plea in memo case

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Dec 14, IRNA -- Pakistani Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted the plea of Husain Haqqani, the former ambassador to the US, rejecting objections from the courts’ office.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry heard the plea in his chamber and accepted the application for hearing. The court has fixed December 19 for hearing the plea.

Former Prime Minister and chief of a major political party Nawaz Sharif had moved the Supreme Court seeking an inquiry over leaked memo controversy.

Haqqani, through his lawyer Asma Jahangir, had challenged the Supreme Court office’s decision in which the registrar had rejected his petition against the court’s Dec 1 order in the case.

According to news reports, a memo was written to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen which alleged fears of a military coup in Pakistan and the army’s complicity in the Osama bin Laden raid.

The memo was allegedly delivered to Mike Mullen by a Pakistani American businessman Mansoor Ijaz at the behest of Ambassador Haqqani.

The memo said it was a golden opportunity after Osama operation to have a civilian control over the intelligence agencies.

In the first hearing of the case on Dec 1, the Supreme Court had appointed a commission to probe the scandal and had stopped Haqqani from leaving the country.

Another important aspect of the case relates to the replies the court had sought not only from Haqqani but from President Asif Ali Zardari, Chief of Army Staff and the Inter-Services Intelligence Director General.

Out of all, only Haqqani has filed a reply so far.

The court had given a two-week deadline, for filing of the replies.

According to media reports, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha will submit their replies to the Supreme Court through Attorney General Office, while President Asif Ali Zardari may request for more time to submit his reply.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had said that he was a representative of the federation and head of all institutions. The PM also said that Mansoor Ijaz was not a responsible person and had written against Pakistani institutions in past.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30712234