AG asked to produce data, phones of Haqqani, Ejaz
Faisal Kamal Pasha
ISLAMABAD: The three-member commission formed by the apex court to investigate the memogate scandal held its first meeting at the IHC premises here on Monday. Besides summoning Husain Haqqani in person, it has issued notices to all parties, including Mansoor Ejaz, DG ISI, James Jones, Mian Nawaz Sharif and some other petitioners.
The commission comprising Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Justice Qazi Faiz Esa, Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Iqbal Hameed-Ur-Rehman and Chief Justice Sindh High Court Justice Musheer Alam also directed attorney general Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq to produce before the commission all the forensic and documentary evidence including the BlackBerry telephone sets of Husain Haqqani and Mansoor Ejaz.
The commission directed the AG to contact the Research in Motion company of Canada to ascertain the forensic records of the BlackBerry (BB) telephone numbers of Mansoor Ejaz and Husain Haqqani.
The commission also issued notices to the BB services in Pakistan through the secretary, Ministry of Interior, directing them to assist the commission. The commission directed the said respondents to make available a person with technical knowledge of BB messengers.
It directed the government to provide security to Husain Haqqani and Mansoor Ejaz to facilitate their appearance before the court. It also directed the government to provide Haqqani with ample opportunity to consult his legal counsel. The commission directed Haqqani and Ejaz to hand over their BB telephone sets along with all the documentary evidence and any other attached devices.
The commission further directed secretary cabinet division Nargis Faiz Sethi to appoint a secretary-level focal person to ensure that all orders of the commission may be properly conveyed to the respondents and implemented. The commission also directed the FIA, ISI, PTA and Ministry of Information Technology to assist the court to ascertain the forensic evidence. Justice Qazi Faiz Esa, head of the commission, observed during the proceedings that “we want to explore all avenues in this regard”.
The commission decided to keep the proceedings open. The attorney general (AG) told the commission that he is appearing before it both as AG and representative of the federation. After that the commission inquired from the AGP about Husain Haqqani, who replied that he had contacted the interior secretary who told him that all the parties in this case have been informed but he has no knowledge why Haqqani did not appear before the commission.
The commission inquired whether anyone representing Haqqani was present in the court. The AGP replied that Asma Jahangir had been representing him in the SC. At this point the commission observed that the proceedings of the commission are different from those of the SC. The commission then summoned Haqqani, directing him to appear in person. It asked the AGP if Haqqani accepted the allegations against him in the memogate scam in his affidavit submitted to the apex court. The AGP replied in the negative.
It then inquired the AG about General James Jones. The AG told the court that he is the person who carried the alleged memo to Admiral Mike Mullen. They asked the AG if James Jones is not a witness rather than a party in this matter, and the AGP replied in the affirmative. The commission then asked how he would come to know about the investigative proceedings going on in Pakistan. The AG replied that notices to Mansoor Ejaz and James Jones have been sent to Washington but no confirmation has been received till this time. Talking about Admiral Mike Mullen, the AG told the commission that he is not a witness in this matter but if he wanted to say something, he could appear before the commission.
The AG told the commission that if some person wants to share information with the court in camera he should be allowed. It was however of the view that the proceeding should be kept open so that there may be no ambiguity.
The commission inquired from the AG about the available technology to investigate the forensic evidence at which the AG said that the cyber crime wing of the federal investigation agency has the technology. The Inter-Services Intelligence, Ministry of Information Technology and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority also possess the capability to verify such evidence.
The AG told the court that the SC has directed him to contact RIM, a Canadian company, for the recovery of forensic data. The AG told the commission that Haqqani and Ejaz exchanged messages through voice call and BB messenger. The commission said that according to Ejaz, emails were also exchanged. He said Ejaz was intimated through the secretary interior. The commission then inquired if he would come to Pakistan to join the proceedings. The AG replied that he has no information in this regard, however, he said he is said to be in Islamabad these days.
The commission observed that according to the decision of the apex court, notices had been issued to the respondents and the SC had also directed the DG PID to publish these notices but this was not done. The AGP said this might have happened due to the weekend and assured the court that all orders of the commission would be implemented.
Secretary ministry of foreign affairs Salman Bashir also appeared before the commission. He was asked if his ministry has conducted any departmental inquiry into this matter and prepared any report in this regard. The secretary replied in the negative.
The commission asked him if there is any mechanism in place to check whom an ambassador meets or whether a diary is maintained to keep a record of such meetings between the ambassadors and other people. The secretary replied in the affirmative. The commission asked him if there is any record of the meetings of Haqqani. The commission directed him to produce the record before the commission on the next date of hearing, January 9, 2012.
Later, the media men asked the AG whether he would also represent the DG ISI before the commission. He said the DG ISI would himself decide this matter.
It is to be mentioned here that the head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Mian Nawaz Sharif had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking investigation into the memogate scandal. The petitioner had named President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Director General ISI Ahmad Shuja Pasha, Husain Haqqani, Mansoor Ejaz, James Jones and Mike Mullen as respondents.
Source: Dawn
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