The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court with a constitutional petition, praying the court to summon President Asif Ali Zardari and other respondents in person to explain the matter of the memorandum allegedly written to the US government.
PML N President Nawaz Sharif has filed the petition under Article 184(3), making President Asif Zardari, former ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani, Mansoor Ejaz, COAS General Ashfaq Kayani, ISI chief Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the federation and the foreign secretary respondents in the case. The PML-N chief prayed the court that all the respondents be summoned in person to explain “the detestable, the despicable and the treacherous memorandum in question”.
He cited an article, published in Financial Times on October 10, 2011, saying that after the publication of the article, former ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani and the president, dismissed the author’s claim by lightly brushing it aside as a mere fantasy. He said that the contents of the memorandum in question are designed not only to demoralise and cow down the armed forces, which was a national asset being a national institution obligated to defend the country and its people by seeking foreign intervention for the said purpose, but it also threatened the very foundation and the future of Pakistan. “The act in question of the ones who initiated the said memorandum, the ones who rendered any help or assistance in the matter and those who blessed or approved it are culpable for acts of high treason against the state and the constitution,” the PML-N chief submitted. Nawaz informed the court that despite his demand, no step at all was taken by the competent authorities to set up any independent committee or commission to look into the fateful affair in question.
“I would have ordinarily approached parliament to take stock of the situation, but the fate of the resolutions of parliament regarding drone attacks and others compelled me to look towards other independent and effective institution for the purpose,” the PML N chief said. He prayed to the apex court that the ones responsible or involved in initiating the process leading to the said memorandum, authoring the same, providing any assistance whatsoever in the process and the ones blessing or approving the said act, may graciously be identified. Nawaz further prayed that the dreadful conspiracy to demonise, ridicule, malign and consequently destroy the invaluable and valiant armed forces of Pakistan, to trade away the sovereignty of Pakistan and to barter away the very existence and the future of Pakistan, which also amounted to waging a war against Pakistan, be unearthed.