Hussain Haqqani refuses to come to Pakistan over Memogate case, mocks CJP
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WASHINGTON - Former ambassador Husain Haqqani has refused to come to Pakistan over the memogate scandal case and rather mocked Chief Justice of Pakistan over reopening of the case.
He has termed the reopening of the Memogate case a political stunt.
On January 29, while hearing a case related to voting rights of overseas Pakistanis, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had summoned details of the Memogate case.
In a statement reported on Monday, Haqqani said there were four chief justices after chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry but none touched the case, adding that six years ago a nine-member bench had heard the case and wondered why just a three-member bench is taking it up now.
"It has been six years since I submitted areview petition to correct legal mistakes in the case. Will the court hear this case too?" he wondered.
Moreover, in a likely referenceto Chief Justice Nisar, Haqqani claimed he will not come to Pakistan on "Baba Rehamtay's" direction, as his orders do not extend beyond Pakistan.
The Memogate scandal erupted in 2011 when Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed to have received an 'anti-army' memo from Haqqani, the then-envoy to US, for the then-US joint chiefs chairman Admiral Mike Mullen.
The scandal, taken to the Supreme Court by then opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and several others, had led to Haqqani's resignation.
During the Jan 29 hearing, the chief justice remarked that the purpose of the proceedings was to give the right of vote to overseas Pakistanis. He added that there are some Pakistanis who promised the court to show up but did not return.
Inquiring into the whereabouts of Haqqani, the chief justice asked if he will also be given a right to cast a vote.
"Why don’t we issue him a notice and summon him to face the Memogate case," the chief justice remarked. He then directed the registrar office to take out the Memogate case file and submit it in court.
Later, the apex court set February 8 as the date when a three-member bench headed by the chief justice and comprising Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Umar Ata Bandial will hear the case.
