Khosa declines to head commission on memo scandal
By: Sohail Khan
ISLAMABAD: Former DG FIA Tariq Khosa on Saturday declined to head a commission, constituted by the Supreme Court, for probing the infamous memo scandal that resulted in the resignation of Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the United States.
According to TV reports, Mr Khosa, who reportedly faced the government’s objection, excused heading a commission, probing the alleged memo scandal and intimated this to the Supreme Court registrar.
It was learnt that soon after receiving the message from Mr Khosa, Dr Fakir Hussain, Registrar of the Supreme Court, brought the matter to the notice of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Meanwhile, The News repeatedly contacted the office of the SC registrar for more than three hours, but he was not available to confirm Mr Khosa’s refusal. Similarly, this correspondent repeatedly tried the worthy registrar at his cell phone No 0300-8506331, but he was not attending his phone. Likewise, a text message was also sent, but he neither replied nor confirmed the refusal of Tariq Khosa to head the commission.
A nine-member special bench of the apex court, after admitting the petitions filed by PML -N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and others, ordered the formation of a judicial commission for ascertaining the objective of the memo, allegedly delivered to US Joint Chief of Staff.
The court had ruled that on receipt of his (Tariq Khosa’s) consent, the matter shall be handed over to him. The court had further ruled that in case Mr Tariq Khosa declines to act as the commission, he may inform the registrar who shall place the matter in chambers for passing of appropriate order for taking up the matter either in the Court or holding proceedings in the chambers.
It is pertinent to mention here that the apex court’s decision regarding formation of a commission on memo issue irked the government that argued hat only executive has the constitutional authority to appoint a commission to investigate the ‘memogate.
PPP leader Senator Babar Awan while addressing a press conference along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Minister for Religious Affairs, Khurshid Shah, and PPP Secretary Information Qamar Zaman Kaira had expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court’s short order of nominating FIA’s former chief Tariq Khosa as head of the inquiry commission to probe the ‘memo’ issue contending that only executive had the constitutional authority to appoint such a commission to investigate the ‘memo’ issue.
Source: THE NEWS
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