Parliamentary probe into memo begins

A parallel parliamentary probe into the memogate controversy also started with the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on Friday, summoning former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt General Ahmad Shuja Pasha and Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz for the next sitting of the committee, scheduled to be held after January 10 to provide evidence in the memo scandal.
The committee, which met here at Parliament House, also told the Foreign Ministry to contact Ijaz and seek an early date for appearance before the committee and provide requisite material available on the memo issue, which has raised the country’s political temperature since it came to the fore. Meanwhile, the committee had to cancel its scheduled session about finalising its proposals on post-NATO attack and future roadmap on cooperation with the alliance and ISAF forces in the war against terror, since the finance minister was not available. A source told Pakistan Today that though the committee decided to summon Ijaz, no decision could be made as to who would contact the US national who has levelled serious allegations against the top Pakistani political leadership of conspiring against the country’s security establishment. “A mechanism has to be developed by the committee chairman to contact Mansoor Ijaz, enabling him to attend the committee’s meeting for his input and viewpoint. Moreover, we would also need him to provide relevant data about the memo which could then be sent for forensic examination and investigation,” added the source.
The source said further that the committee would also strategize to get authentication of the alleged communication of Ijaz with Haqqani, and the Foreign Ministry and Pakistani embassy in Canada would be directed to assist in getting confirmation from Research In Motion Ltd (RIM), the company that manufactures Blackberry smartphones. Committee Chairman Raza Rabbani told reporters the participants of the committee were provided material about the memo. He said it was also decided that the committee would devise a mechanism to contact and summon Ijaz, who was a US national. He said Ijaz would be asked to provide relevant data to the committee for forensic investigation. He said the committee would meet next week to finalise its recommendations vis-à-vis future terms of engagements with the US and NATO forces and a working draft had also been distributed among the committee participants. He said now the committee would meet on Tuesday and the finance minister would brief the committee on the financial impact on the country if ties with the US were not revived in the war against terror. “We will also summon ministers for foreign affairs and defence, who will further brief the committee. Later, the committee will present its report to the prime minister and the proposals will be submitted in the joint session of parliament,” he added.
Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmed said the committee had summoned Haqqani and Pasha in the next meeting to be held on memogate after January 10, while Ijaz would be contacted through the Foreign Ministry and he would be invited to provide evidence at his convenience. He said the problem the committee was facing was that forensic investigation was impossible without data provision by RIM, which would be contacted for data verification by the Foreign Ministry. The senator said the committee was provided a 30-point working draft on Friday and all members would come up with their proposals in the next meeting. Asked if he smelled a rat in the parliamentary committee’s probe and were there any chances that the government might bail out Haqqani in the memo case, the senator said he believed in the integrity of all the committee members. However, he said if any such evidence came to the fore, he and his colleagues from opposition parties would devise a joint strategy in this regard.