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Memo panel gives Haqqani another chance to appear
The commission headed by Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa ordered the former ambassador to appear before the court with his BlackBerry handsets and relevant documents. The commission also directed the government of Pakistan to ensure the former envoys presence through the ministries of interior and foreign affairs, proposing four options to bring him back confiscation of his property in Pakistan, issuance of an arrest warrant, filing of a criminal case against him or holding him in contempt of court. Justice Alam said Haqqani was allowed to leave the country only after an assurance that he would appear before the court whenever ordered to do so. Justice Isa remarked that Haqqanis failure to appear before the commission would be considered the governments failure to present the former ambassador before the commission. Foreign Ministry Director General Sohail Khan recorded his statement before the commission and presented the official record from January 2011 to the time when Haqqani resigned. He apprised the court that the former ambassador had gone to London from Washington in 2011 without informing the consulate concerned. The two BlackBerry handsets used by the former ambassador during that period were in the possession of the government of Pakistan, he informed the court. When the court cross-questioned the director general about Haqqanis travel to London, the official replied that the consulate concerned did not have any written record of that period. The commission in Thursdays hearing had ordered the director general to present the record before the court on Friday. Akram Sheikh, counsel for Mansoor Ijaz, requested the commission to seek details of the secret funds of the Embassy of Pakistan in the US, saying the funds were used by Haqqani. Zahid Bukhari, counsel for Husain Haqqani, termed it an unnecessary and irrelevant issue. However, the commission directed the Foreign Ministry official to produce record of secret funds used by the embassy in the US from April to December 2011. Justice Isa asked Bukhari why he had not written a letter to the BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM). The counsel informed the commission that he had conveyed the courts order to Haqqani, adding that his client wanted the order in written form, as he wanted to consult an American lawyer in that regard. After hearing the arguments, Justice Isa again directed Haqqani to write a consent letter to RIM to waive his right to privacy. Earlier, prior to appearing before the commission, Bukhari had said that his client would not write the consent letter to RIM. Speaking at the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), he had said that he would request the commission to provide him a written order in that regard. Posted by: Steve White 2012-04-07 |
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