Memogate: Nawaz government supports Zardari in Supreme Court

Written reply seeks dismissal of application to put former president Zardari on Exit Control List.

ISLAMABAD: Responding to the Supreme Court with reference to the Memogate scandal on Tuesday, the current government defended former president Asif Ali Zardari and his decision to convene a high level meeting to probe former Ambassador of Pakistan to the US, Hussain Haqqani. The questioning at the time was carried out in the presence of the Chief of Army Staff and Deputy General Inter Services Intelligence.

Haqqani was questioned for allegedly sending a memo to a top American military official looking to avoid  a military coup following the Abbottabad incident in which Osama bin Laden was gunned down. Pakistani American businessperson Mansoor Ijaz had alleged that Haqqani was sending a memo against Pakistan army general with the consent of the former president.

One of the petitioners in the current case, Shahid Orakzai had filed an application asking that Zardari's name be put on the Exit Control List (ECL) so that the former president could not escape from investigations related to the Abbottabad incident.

The federal government in the reply it submitted through the law division today said that the petition was misconceived and "completely against realities". The government requested that the application be dismissed.

A two-judge bench of the court is scheduled to take this case next week.