‘No record of political cell in Presidency’

Secretary to the President Malik Asif Hayat on Monday told the Supreme Court that there was no record of any political cell working in the Presidency during the tenure of late president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. However, Hayat sought time to submit a detailed report, saying additional time should be provided for a thorough investigation as the matter was decades-old and the Presidency would submit a reply to the SC if any record was found.
The statement was made before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in a petition submitted by Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan about the alleged distribution of money among a set of politicians to sway the 1990 general election in favour of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI). The bench granted time to Hayat with instructions to trace out the record and submit a reply on Wednesday (tomorrow). Earlier, Salman Akram Raja, counsel for Asghar Khan, argued that the material submitted before the bench by retired intelligence officers was sufficient admission of the gross violation of the constitutional parameters.
He said one aspect of the case was related to Article 10-A and questioned the role of military authorities at that time who took steps without constitutional and legislative backing. Raja said there was framework for the operation of a secret agency in every country. The chief justice maintained that such past incidents were acts of some individuals for which entire institutions could not be blamed. He said there should be respect for all institutions. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja observed that the function to exercise control was vested with the legislature and the court’s duty was enforcement of fundamental rights, of which the democratic set up was a vital organ. Referring to the role of former president Ishaq Khan, the chief justice remarked that being a supreme commander of the armed forces, he was not required to lend support to any particular political alliance.
Raja contended that the action was also a violation of Article 17 regarding political process and said he had also sought the federation and election commission to have played their roles for pursuing the cases. The chief justice observed that such incidents occurred as past presidents had been vested powers greater than the prime minister’s after 1977, but the recent 18th Amendment had brought the 1973 constitution back to its original form. Roedad Khan, a retired bureaucrat who was accused of running affairs of the secret political cell during the said period along with Ijlal Haider Zaidi, also submitted a written statement with the court, denying meetings with former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg. He rejected the statement of former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General (r) Asad Durrani and said it was not based on facts. He contended that Durrani never conveyed the former president’s message to him to bribe the politicians. He also denied his role in political or electoral cell in the President’s House during the 1990 election. Asad Durrani was also directed to submit the outline regarding his stance he had taken before the court. The proceedings were later adjourned until Tuesday.