Probing the Memogate: Haqqani, Pasha submit replies to parliamentary panel
Bi-cameral, multi-party committee gives Ijaz till Thursday to submit reply.
ISLAMABAD:
The Inter-Services Intelligence chief Shuja Pasha and former envoy to the United States Husain Haqqani have submitted their replies on the Memogate issue to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).
The committee, meanwhile, has given an ultimatum to the third central character in the controversy, Mansoor Ijaz, to submit his reply until Thursday, January 26.
“We will wait for [Ijaz’s] reply on memo till Thursday and then pass our recommendations on the issue,” said the panel’s chair Senator Raza Rabbani on Tuesday.
“We will take the final decision – how to deal with the memo issue and how to record Mansoor Ijaz’s statement,” he added.
The parliamentary panel had directed Ijaz to appear before it on January 26 and justify his stance against Haqqani.
Ijaz, however, has refused to come to Pakistan and appear before the parliamentary panel, and a judicial commission, probing the issue, citing lack of security assurances.
Rabbani said Ijaz might file his reply to the committee, through his counsel, until Thursday.
When asked if Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will be summoned by the committee, Rabbani refused, saying the intelligence chief’s reply in this regard is ‘enough.’
Rabbani also ruled out reports of interference by President Asif Ali Zardari, requesting a ‘favour’ for Haqqani. The senator said he has not been contacted by the president since the committee started the investigations.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, on Thursday, will brief the panel on issues surrounding Ijaz’s security. The attorney general will also submit details of the reply filed by Canadian manufacturer of BlackBerry phone, Research In Motion. The company had turned down Pakistan’s request to hand over the communication data between Ijaz and Haqqani.
The panel also rejected Pakistan Peoples Party leader Raja Riaz’s plea to become a party in the Memogate scandal.
Riaz, who is also the opposition leader in Punjab Assembly, sought the panel’s permission to question Ijaz on his alleged role in toppling former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s government in 1996.
“We have rejected Riaz’s request because it deals with another issue, not the memo,” said a lawmaker who attended the panel’s meeting on Tuesday.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2012.
The Inter-Services Intelligence chief Shuja Pasha and former envoy to the United States Husain Haqqani have submitted their replies on the Memogate issue to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).
The committee, meanwhile, has given an ultimatum to the third central character in the controversy, Mansoor Ijaz, to submit his reply until Thursday, January 26.
“We will wait for [Ijaz’s] reply on memo till Thursday and then pass our recommendations on the issue,” said the panel’s chair Senator Raza Rabbani on Tuesday.
“We will take the final decision – how to deal with the memo issue and how to record Mansoor Ijaz’s statement,” he added.
The parliamentary panel had directed Ijaz to appear before it on January 26 and justify his stance against Haqqani.
Ijaz, however, has refused to come to Pakistan and appear before the parliamentary panel, and a judicial commission, probing the issue, citing lack of security assurances.
Rabbani said Ijaz might file his reply to the committee, through his counsel, until Thursday.
When asked if Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will be summoned by the committee, Rabbani refused, saying the intelligence chief’s reply in this regard is ‘enough.’
Rabbani also ruled out reports of interference by President Asif Ali Zardari, requesting a ‘favour’ for Haqqani. The senator said he has not been contacted by the president since the committee started the investigations.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, on Thursday, will brief the panel on issues surrounding Ijaz’s security. The attorney general will also submit details of the reply filed by Canadian manufacturer of BlackBerry phone, Research In Motion. The company had turned down Pakistan’s request to hand over the communication data between Ijaz and Haqqani.
The panel also rejected Pakistan Peoples Party leader Raja Riaz’s plea to become a party in the Memogate scandal.
Riaz, who is also the opposition leader in Punjab Assembly, sought the panel’s permission to question Ijaz on his alleged role in toppling former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s government in 1996.
“We have rejected Riaz’s request because it deals with another issue, not the memo,” said a lawmaker who attended the panel’s meeting on Tuesday.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2012.