Memogate probe: Mansoor Ijaz ready to appear before SC
Ijaz says SC had showed independence from the political brinkmanship of Pakistan’s ruling party.
WASHINGTON:
Mansoor Ijaz, the central player in the memogate controversy, has said that that he was ready to appear before the Supreme Court, according to the South Asian News Agency (SANA) on Friday.
A written statement issued by Ijaz quoted him as saying that the apex court’s decision demonstrated that democracy was indeed alive and well in Pakistan.
He added that the SC had showed independence from the political brinkmanship of Pakistan’s ruling party in investigating the possibility of a malfeasance within its own ranks. He said that he was ready to appear before the SC in the memo case.
Earlier on Thursday, a nine-member special bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, ordered that a commission be formed to investigate the matter – one that is headed by former police officer Tariq Khosa.
The government has already announced that the Parliamentary Committee on National Security would be investigating the matter. The bi-partisan and bi-cameral committee has already begun its proceedings.
(Read: Memogate: Ignoring govt inquiry, court orders probe of its own)
A notice was issued in this regard by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who said that all parties named in the petition must present their evidence in order for the memogate scandal to be investigated. The petition names 13 respondents including President Asif Ali Zardari, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
A Pakistani-American having links in the power corridors of the US and Pakistan, Ijaz had blown the whistle on the Memo after publishing the details in a October 10, 2011 o-ed in the Financial Times. A chain of events set forth from that article resulted in Pakistan recalling its Ambassador to US, Husain Haqqani and subsequently demanding his resignation.
Mansoor Ijaz, the central player in the memogate controversy, has said that that he was ready to appear before the Supreme Court, according to the South Asian News Agency (SANA) on Friday.
A written statement issued by Ijaz quoted him as saying that the apex court’s decision demonstrated that democracy was indeed alive and well in Pakistan.
He added that the SC had showed independence from the political brinkmanship of Pakistan’s ruling party in investigating the possibility of a malfeasance within its own ranks. He said that he was ready to appear before the SC in the memo case.
Earlier on Thursday, a nine-member special bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, ordered that a commission be formed to investigate the matter – one that is headed by former police officer Tariq Khosa.
The government has already announced that the Parliamentary Committee on National Security would be investigating the matter. The bi-partisan and bi-cameral committee has already begun its proceedings.
(Read: Memogate: Ignoring govt inquiry, court orders probe of its own)
A notice was issued in this regard by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who said that all parties named in the petition must present their evidence in order for the memogate scandal to be investigated. The petition names 13 respondents including President Asif Ali Zardari, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
A Pakistani-American having links in the power corridors of the US and Pakistan, Ijaz had blown the whistle on the Memo after publishing the details in a October 10, 2011 o-ed in the Financial Times. A chain of events set forth from that article resulted in Pakistan recalling its Ambassador to US, Husain Haqqani and subsequently demanding his resignation.