Memogate case: SC summons officials for Husain Haqqani’s repatriation

–Haqqani’s lawyers Asma Jahangir and Chaudhry Akhtar inform court that Haqqani has instructed them not to plead his case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday summoned the secretaries of the interior and foreign affairs and the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to discuss possible steps for bringing former ambassador to United States Husain Haqqani back to Pakistan.

The court has sought mechanism within one week for bringing Haqqani to the country.

Additional Attorney General Pakistan (AAGP) Waqar Rana requested the bench to give some time for evolving to bring him back in view of SC’s earlier order.

The bench expressed surprise that why has this case not been listed for the last four years. “I will ask SC why did the office not put up file for the fixation of the case,” he observed.

The chief justice said that there is no political consideration to fix this matter.

Waqar Rana submitted that ‘Haqqani is abusing Pakistan’. The bench asked Rana to assist the court regarding the breach of commitment by Haqqani.

The hearing was then adjourned for one week.

The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has also dismissed Haqqani’s review petitions against the Supreme Court order to form a commission to probe Memogate. The review petitions have been dismissed on non-prosecution.

During the hearing Advocate on Record (AOR) Chaudhry Akhtar and Asma Jahangir appeared before the bench and stated that they have been instructed not to plead his case, therefore, they are withdrawing Wakalatnaama.

HAQQANI WON’T PURSUE MEMOGATE CASE:

Haqqani, on the other hand, on Wednesday gave clear instructions to his counsel to withdraw from all future Supreme Court (SC) hearings in connection with the Memogate case, saying, “The judiciary holds no relevance in the eyes of the world as it was at its lowest ebb.”

Haqqani said he did not trust the Pakistani establishment to provide justice on the basis of the fair play, adding that the Supreme Court was an important part of the establishment. He said that the reopening of the Memogate case after the passage of six years was “an attempt to make me the target of a propaganda to counter my forthcoming book, titled ‘Reimagining Pakistan’.”

Earlier, SC on February 2, constituted a three-member bench to resume the hearing of the controversial Memogate case involving former ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani from February 8.

The memogate scandal erupted in 2011 when Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed to have received an ‘anti-army’ memo from Haqqani for the then-US joint chiefs chairman Admiral Mike Mullen.

In this regard, a court notice has already been issued to Hussain Haqqani and other respondents of the case — including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The scandal, taken to the Supreme Court by then opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, led to Haqqani’s resignation.

The cases pertaining to the memogate were registered under Sections 120b (hatching a criminal conspiracy) and 121a (waging a war against Pakistan) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Earlier, the chief justice had summoned details of the Memogate case while hearing a case related to the right to vote for overseas Pakistanis.