Haqqani not a man of his words: CJP

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday remarked that former envoy to US Hussain Haqqani had not honoured his promise of returning to Pakistan despite court orders and notices. “The court had not exempted Hussain Haqqani from attendance. The court had expressed trust in him and allowed him to go abroad. Hussain Haqqani had assured to return to Pakistan on a four-day notice but he did not come back despite receiving court’s notices and orders. He did not keep his promise,” the CJP remarked while presiding over a nine-member larger bench of the Supreme Court (SC) during a follow up hearing of the memogate case. The CJP said that Haqqani should return to Pakistan, and that the court would order the government to provide him complete protection. Haqqani’s counsel Asma Jahangir argued that the memo commission had declared Haqqani “a traitor”, and that various politicians had addressed him with titles such as “Mir Jaffar” and “Mir Sadiq”. She asked the court to tell if her client should really come back while “facing life threats”. She said how the government could provide him protection, when it was the one Haqqani was seeking protection from. “If a guarantee is given to my client that he would be provided complete security and protection on his return, then I can talk to him,” she added. In his remarks, Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jilani said the opinion of the commission was also not agreed upon. Asma said that the attorney general should ensure permission for Haqqani’s return to Pakistan, and his security arrangements.