News
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Memo authentic, Haqqani originator: commission* SC makes public 123-page report which says Haqqani disloyal to Pakistan
* Directs former ambassador to appear before bench on next hearing
By Hasnaat Malik
ISLAMABAD: The memo commission’s report submitted in the Supreme Court has established that the memorandum was authentic and Pakistan’s former ambassador to United States Husain Haqqani was its originator and architect.
“It has been incontrovertibly established that the memorandum was authentic and Mr Haqqani was the originator and architect of the memorandum. Mr Haqqani sought American help; he also wanted to create a niche for himself, making himself forever indispensable to the Americans. He lost sight of the fact that he is a Pakistani citizen and Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States of America, and therefore his loyalty could only be to Pakistan,” the report says.
A nine-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry, on Tuesday made public the 123-page memo commission’s report and directed Haqqani to appear before the bench on the next hearing. The court on December 30, 2011, had constituted a commission headed by Balochistan High Court Justice Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam. Raja Jawwad Abbas Hassan, district and sessions judge, Islamabad, was appointed secretary to the commission.
The commission has submitted its report in a sealed cover along with five sealed envelopes. The chief justice unsealed the report in the open court and asked the attorney general to read it. “Mr Haqqani by offering his services as part of a proposed ‘national security team’ to a foreign government, voicing the ‘great fears’ that ‘Pakistan’s nuclear assets are now legitimate targets’ and thus seeking to bring ‘Pakistan’s nuclear assets under a more verifiable, transparent regime’, stating that ISI maintains ‘relations to the Taliban’ and offering to ‘eliminate Section S of the ISI and to help pigeonhole the forces lined up against your interests’ created fissures in the body politic and were acts of disloyalty to Pakistan, that contravened the Constitution of Pakistan,” the report stated.
The commission’s finding further said that the purpose of the memorandum was to show that the civilian government was a friend of America, but needed to be strengthened to prevail upon the army and the intelligence agencies, and to be able to do so American help was required to set up a civilian national security team, to be headed by Haqqani.
“We may observe that Mr Haqqani has chosen not to live in Pakistan, has been working in USA, where he appeared to have made his life, held no property or asset in Pakistan, held no money (save a paltry amount) in a Pakistani bank, but despite having no obvious ties to Pakistan was appointed to the extremely sensitive position of Pakistan’s ambassador to the USA, and in addition to being paid a salary and accompanying emoluments was handed a largesse of over an amount of two million dollars a year,” the commission notes in the report. The court issued notice to all respondents and adjourned the case for a period of two weeks. It also directed the SC office to prepare extra copies of the report for respondents and the attorney general.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk