Memo commission completes probe

A session of the commission probing the memo scandal concluded at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday.
The commission is being headed by Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
After the session, the BHC chief justice said that the commission had completed its proceedings and only one in camera hearing remained to be held.
The commission would soon present its report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, he added.
The commission’s secretary Raja Jawad presented to it his statement recorded under oath along with a forensic report of US businessman Mansoor Ijaz’s Blackberry set.
In his statement, the secretary informed the commission that eight companies had been contacted for the forensic examination of Ijaz’s Blackberry set and after evaluating the quality standards the company with the least price and best quality was chosen.
Furthermore, Jawad also submitted the list of companies along with contact and pricing details, informing the court that both Ijaz and Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani had been notified of the forensic examination.
He added that two experts from the chosen company had analysed the handset in his presence and that the Pakistan High Commission in London did not interfere during the examination.
Deputy Attorney General Tariq Jahangiri questioned the credentials of the examining experts upon which the relevant documentation was handed over to him.
Counsel for Mansoor Ijaz, Barrister Akram Shaikh told the court that Haqqani’s lawyer Zahid Bukhari had issued a statement to the media about boycotting the commission’s hearing whereas his client Haqqani was fully co-operating with the commission.
Qazi Isa said it was best not to depend on media reports. He added that no request had been received from Haqqani in this regard.
In a related development, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s counsel, Barrister Mustafa Ramday requested the commission to summon President Asif Ali Zardari “in a personal capacity”.