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| India-Pakistan |
| Pak Gov't; We've no control over operations of Army, ISI |
| 2011-12-24 |
| In a late night development on Wednesday which added yet another twist to the memo scandal, the federal government, through the Ministry of Defence, conceded before the Supreme Court that it had no operational control over the armed forces as well as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). A one-page reply by the defence ministry said it was not in a position to submit any reply on behalf of the armed forces and the ISI. Earlier on Dec 15, the government had submitted its reply on behalf of the ministries of interior and foreign affairs. It requested the court to dismiss the petitions over memo scandal. The filing of the reply by the defence ministry has heightened apprehensions, with many interpreting it as a telltale sign of friction between the civilian arm of the government and the military over the memo matter. Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the ISI chief, also submitted to the court his sworn affidavit through the office of Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq late on Wednesday night. He virtually repeated the stand he had taken in his reply filed earlier in the court. Earlier during the day, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani submitted a sworn affidavit acknowledging the existence of the memorandum while PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif submitted a rejoinder. The affidavits of President Asif Ali Zardari and former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani had not arrived. Not satisfied with the replies, the court had on Dec 19 asked the petitioners as well as the respondents to submit affidavits on oath as well as paragraph-wise comments denying or accepting whatever was levelled or stated in the petitions or the replies. The court felt the need for seeking sworn affidavits and rejoinders to clear cobwebs in different stands taken by the petitioners and the respondents and to ascertain whether a question of public importance is involved to exercise jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution by the court. However, despite clear directives, President Zardari chose to remain silent by not filing any reply. Realising the importance of the reply on part of the president, the Supreme Court at the last hearing had pointed out that allegations not rebutted would always be considered correct, implicitly asking the president to submit his point of view on the memo scandal. “I am not aware of the status. However, it is a legal and constitutional issue which will appropriately be addressed in accordance with the law and the Constitution,” presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn when asked whether or not the president would file the reply. |
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