Mansoor Ijaz offers to record statement in London
* Judicial commission directs AGP to write letter to Canadian High Commission and RIM seeking BlackBerry record
* Justice Isa says Mansoor Ijaz is taking a U-turn
By Ali Hassan
ISLAMABAD: Akram Sheikh, the counsel of Mansoor Ijaz, has informed the judicial commission on memogate that his client is willing to record his statement in the Pakistan High Commission in London.
The fifth meeting of judicial commission on Thursday adjourned the hearing until today (Friday) with the directions to the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) for writing a letter to the Canadian High Commission and Research in Motion (RIM) seeking BlackBerry record and submits its courier slips in commission.
The commission headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa has also summoned Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on a short notice over not informing the returning of a letter written to RIM for providing BlackBerry messaging record of Mansoor Ijaz and Husain Haqqani.
Isa said that the commission had clearly stated that all the documents relevant with the case be submitted to the commission according to law but the government has violated the commission order.
However Salman Bashir said he personally received a letter on January 30 at his office. He also said that he personally inquires that matter.
AGP Maulvi Anwarul Haq informed commission that the BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion (RIM), has already refused to release data related to memogate scandal. He said that the phone manufacturer said that their privacy laws strictly prohibit disclosure of a customer’s data to any other party without the consent of the parties concerned, thus Pakistan cannot have it. The AGP said that RIM had given its reply on January 23 through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During meeting, Akram Sheikh, the counsel of Mansoor Ijaz, once again informed the commission that his client would not come to Pakistan due to security problems. Sheik requested the commission to record Ijaz’s statement in the Pakistan High Commission in London.
He said that the location for recording Ijaz’s statement be changed to Zurich or London from Dubai, in which Justice Isa questioned that what is the guarantee that if the court’s representatives go abroad, Ijaz will have his statement recorded. Sheikh also said that Ijaz had agreed to be deposed by the commission of his own accord and that the commission does not have the right to summon Ijaz.
Justice Isa remarked that the government provides full security assurance by the order of commission but Ijaz has been making the excuses as he denied twice obeying the commission order. Isa said after all the security assurances, Akram Sheikh’s client (Mansoor Ijaz) is now taking a U-turn.
Zahid Hussain Bokhari, counsel of Husain Haqqani, said that the attitude and conduct of Mansoor Ijaz clearly shows that he was playing with the sentiments of the nation and also wasting the precious time of the commission. Even the High Commission in London granted him visa after the office hours to facilitate his appearance before commission but he refused to come to Pakistan.
Bokhari requested the commission to close the right of recording the statement of Ijaz in order to finalise the proceedings.
Source: Daily Times
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