Mansoor Ijaz – coming to a screen near you on 22nd

The memo commission decided on Friday to record the statement of the main witness, Mansoor Ijaz, via live video conference from Pakistan’s High Commission in London at 2pm (PST) on February 22, with a stern direction to the government that “we don’t want any hiccups this time”. Zahid Bukhari, the counsel for former ambassador Husain Haqqani, was twice seen trapped in his own foggy arguments, apparently aimed at delaying the proceedings and keeping Ijaz from recording his statement before the commission.
As Bukhari opposed the video conference procedure, the commission’s Chairman Justice Qazi Faez Isa told him that the commission had decided not to go abroad to record Ijaz’s statement, keeping in view the concerns he (Bukhari) had showed a day earlier regarding the security of the commission members and costs of travel. On the second occasion, Bukhari’s reservations regarding the quality of audio and video during the conferencing gave the commission chairman an added opportunity to direct the government to ensure a high quality live feed. “We don’t want any hiccups this time. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure a good link,” Justice Isa said. The commission’s Secretary Raja Jawad Hassan Abbas would reach London a few days prior to the proceedings to oversee arrangements and procure all the documentary and physical evidence including smartphones, other devices and forensic material provided by Ijaz. The commission also directed the Foreign Office to make necessary arrangements in this regard, including establishing a communication link between the Pakistan High Commission and the Islamabad High Court, where the commission had been holding its meetings. The Foreign Office was also told to make arrangements for the visit of the commission secretary and his stay in London.
Justice Isa also asked Akram Shaikh, the counsel for Ijaz, to submit to the commission in advance three sets of all the documentary evidence received from Ijaz, while the original documents would be submitted later. Haqqani’s counsel strongly opposed the commission’s decision to record the statement through video conference, saying the move would be tantamount to prejudice. However, he could not satisfy the commission on the specific point. Justice Isa said if any lawyers wanted to go to London for cross-examination on their own expense, the commission did not have any objections.The commission rejected an application filed by Haqqani seeking the Mansoor Ijaz

appointment of a commissioner to record Ijaz’s statement abroad, saying he could file a fresh application in this regard later if the need arose. The commission noted in its order that Ijaz had not been in attendance without any valid excuse. Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq showed conditional acceptance to recording the statement via video conference. He argued that the verification and examination of the evidence would be difficult on video and that technical complexities were involved in the procedure. Justice Isa said the identity and voice would be ensured to be that of Ijaz.
The commission stated that the Supreme Court had allowed such things to happen in the past. “We are not doing it on the request or desire of Mansoor Ijaz, rather the SC had cast a duty upon the commission to probe the issue,” Justice Isa said. The commission cited many cases including two each from the Sindh High Court and the Supreme Court in which the court allowed recording of statements through video conference. Bukhari, however, termed the references questionable. Bukhari said the commission was going to help “create the evidence”. However, lawyer Naseer Bhutta said the commission was not going to create the evidence but collect it.
“If Mansoor Ijaz is recording his statement from abroad, Haqqani will also record his statement through video link,” Bukhari argued, adding that there might be audio/video problems during the conference. Shaikh and all other parties except Zafrullah Khan supported the decision as the best possible solution. Justice Isa said if Ijaz still did not come to record his statement, the commission would draw all adverse inferences. Earlier, Shaikh told the commission that his client would submit an affidavit that he would appear before the commission through video conference. The attorney general told the commission that the government had written a letter to the Canada-based manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones directly, requesting the provision of data on communication between Ijaz and Haqqani.