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ISLAMABAD: Opposition PML-N members in the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) sought to dissociate themselves from the committee’s proceedings when it formally launched a probe into the memo controversy on Wednesday, but later agreed to participate in the meeting.
Briefing reporters after presiding over a meeting of the PCNS, its chairman Senator Raza Rabbani said the committee had formally launched its probe into the memo controversy and recorded preliminary statements of Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Naeem Khalid Lodhi.
Mr Rabbani said that Senator Ishaq Dar and MNA Mahtab Ahmed Khan of PML-N wanted to abstain from the proceedings on the memo issue as their party was already pursuing the case in the Supreme Court, but their request for staying away from the meeting was turned down by all members of the committee.
The PCNS chairman said the committee had decided to seek copies of replies submitted by various people and officials, including the army chief, the ISI DG, former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani and Mansoor Ijaz in the Supreme Court over the issue.
The copies, he said, would be sought through the attorney general. The affidavit submitted by former US national security adviser Gen James Jones to the Supreme Court will also be reviewed by the committee at its next meeting on Dec 30.
Mr Rabbani said the committee had decided to continue holding in-camera meetings of the PCNS and rejected a demand made by some members that its proceedings be declared open to media.
Sources told Dawn that besides opposition members, Babar Awan of PPP and Haider Abbas Rizvi of MQM were also in favour of open meetings since the Supreme Court was also holding an open trial on the memo issue.
