Supreme Court seeks replies from Zardari, Kayani, Pasha, Haqqani: Nawaz makes appearance in 'Memogate' case

After initiating hearing of identical petitions on 'Memogate', the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday sought replies from President Zardari, army chief General Kayani, DG ISI Shuja Pasha and former Pakistani ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani and other respondents in 15 days.
The SC also issued directives to form a single-member judicial commission under former Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Tariq Khosa to submit a detailed report within three weeks after he investigates the matter to ascertain whether Haqqani had been barred to leave Pakistan till the finalisation of the case. A nine-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing the petitions filed by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, President Watan Party Barrister Zafar Ullah, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Advocate Supreme Court Tariq Asad and others.
All the petitioners have prayed for summoning all the respondents in person to explain the "detestable, despicable and the treacherous memorandum." During the course of hearing, the bench remarked that Article 5 of the Constitution makes it obligatory for every citizen to remain faithful to the country as the memo has raised many eyebrows over country's sovereignty, adding that an action should be taken against those found guilty in the controversy.
In his remarks, the Chief Justice observed that the 'Memogate' matter was both civil and criminal in nature, adding that the Parliament had the jurisdiction to review only civil matters. PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif accompanied by his brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and others with security guards entered the Court Room 1 while his protocol fleet was seen patrolling the Constitution Avenue along with a large number of supporters, chanting slogans in their leader's favour on the entrance of the SC before and after the hearing of the case.
The petitioner, Nawaz Sharif, apprised the bench that his counsel Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim was not able to appear before the bench due to ill health. While advancing his arguments, Sharif pleaded the nation was extremely worried over the prevailing socio-political situation in the country. He further pleaded that scandals of the incumbent government had been coming to fore almost on a daily basis. He contended that Haqqani had tendered his resignation on "Memogate" issue and that Mansoor Ijaz had confirmed that the memo was written with the consent of top functionaries of Pakistan. Nawaz added that the text of the memo was made public through Financial Times and the then USA JCAS, Mike Mullen, had also confirmed the receipt of that memo.
Sharif argued that although opposition tried its level best to play a pivotal role in making the parliament functional, the parliament was never taken on board as far as major national issues were concerned. He added the government never implemented the resolutions passed by the parliament. For example, he added, a resolution adopted after two months of Abbottabad incident was still in limbo. Sharif asked how an ambassador could write a letter to a US army officer without the consent of top government functionaries.
Sharif urged the court to ensure the summoning of President Asif Ali Zardari and other respondents in the Memogate case, adding that he had challenged the matter in the apex court after proper consideration. He said he did not intend to deliver a speech against President Zardari before the bench, but his words were solely for the cause of national sovereignty.
On the occasion, Justice Saqib Nisar observed that the bench was grateful to Sharif on reposing his trust in the judiciary and added that the bench had reviewed legal points of the petition where certain contentions of the petitioner did not fall in the jurisdiction of the court. "If this memo proves true then it will tantamount to violation of Constitution whereas basically the matter falls within the purview of parliament," the bench observed.
The CJP, however, remarked that the criminal aspect of the case had no relevance with the parliament. He referred the Watergate scandal. Facing near-certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and a strong possibility of a conviction in Senate, the then US President, Richard Nixon, resigned the Presidency. His successor, Gerald Ford, then issued a pardon to Nixon.
The CJP observed that the federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik gave his statement that no letter was written but it was only an exchange of messages through blackberry. If seen in that context as was quoted in newspapers, the government did not need to find out its enemies, he added.
The CJP revealed that Haqqani had tendered resignation, which had not been verified so far by the concerned authority. He asked whether Haqqani resigned on his own volition or at somebody else's behest. Answering a question raised by Justice Jawad S Khawaja, Sharif apprised the bench that the parliament had taken no action in the matter so far. Earlier, Barrister Zafar Ullah of Watan Party contended that the memo written to Mullen was delivered to him on May 10, 2011. The hearing was adjourned for an indefinite period.