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ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: Former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani refused on Monday to surrender his cellphone`s privacy rights before a judicial commission investigating the memo scandal.
He informed the threemember commission, headed by Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, that he had no role in either drafting or delivering the memorandum to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen.
When the commission asked him if he was ready to waive the privacy rights of his BlackBerry sets as offered by Mansoor Ijaz, a main character in the memo controversy, Mr Haqqani said he would do it and provide his sets to the commission only after Mr Ijaz and other petitioners produced solid evidence on the alleged memo.
But when the commission pressed him to give his answer only in yes or no, MrHaqqani said `no`. He said his two BlackBerry sets were official and he needed an advice from the government before surrendering them to the commission.
`I also changed the model of a BlackBerry and need some time to trace the old set.
Both the sets were left in myoffice because I came to Pakistan in a hurry. The Supreme Court restricted me from going abroad and, therefore, I cannot bring them to Pakistan,` he said.
The commission asked Mr Haqqani`s counsel Zahid Bukhari and other parties to submit lists of their witnesses on Jan 13 and adjourned the proceedings till Jan 16.
Akram Sheikh, counsel for Mansoor Ijaz, informed the commission that his client would record his statement atthe next hearing and would be available for cross-examination. He said he would like to cross-examine Gen (retd) James Jones, who had allegedly handed over the memo to Admiral Mullen.
`My client is ready to waive privacy rights on his BlackBerry sets and also dis-close his PIN to the commission for expeditious disposal of the case,` he said, adding that Mr Ijaz would do it only if Mr Haqqani also provided the same details to the commission.
Akram Sheikh said if Mr Haqqani did not surrender his privacy rights it would be difficult to get the record of communications between him and Mr Ijaz from Research in Motion (RIM), the service provider of BlackBerry. He accused the government of creating hurdles in his client`s arrival in Pakistan.
He said police were planning to register an FIR against Mr Ijaz and he was even facing death threats. Mr Sheikh said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) should be given responsibility to provide security to his client.
The commission directed the federal government to provide security to Mr Ijaz and Mr Haqqani through lawenforcement agencies as well as the army.
It also asked the government to immediately process Mr Ijaz`s application and issue him a visa with multiple entries. The government is required to send a formal request to RIM through the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad for obtaining data of BlackBerry messengers.
The commission exempted PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who was present there, and other petitioners from appearing in person. It said fresh notices would be issued to them if the commission required their presence.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq informed the commission that RIM had not responded to an earlier request sent though the Consul General of Pakistan in Toronto. He said Pakistani embassies in Switzerland and Britain had been directed to issue visa to Mr Ijaz unconditionally after receiving his passport and application.
He assured the commission that police had not, and would not, register any case against Mr Ijaz. He said if Mr Ijaz violated any law during his stay in Pakistan the matter would be brought to the Supreme Court before registering a case.
On the directives of the commission, the attorney general read out a letter from ISI chief Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha in which he had sought an in camera briefing on the memo issue.
But the commission directed Colonel Khalid, a representative of the ISI, that if Gen Pasha had some evidence and wanted to share it with the commission, he could send a request in a sealed envelope.
i have not heard of a responsible adult leaving his 2 phones behind when travelling abroad. Could such an irresponsible person be made our ambassador to the most important foreign country in the world …????
this man has the audacity to insult the intelligence of not just the courts but the whole country.
Haqqani and the President are main culprit in this whole game. The refusal to give blackbery by Haqqani and President's refusal to submit his reply to the commission are one of the shadow-proofs as there is certainly something which is hidden and Mansoor Ejaz's stance might be right. We Pakistanis have full confidence in our Judiciary and as Imran said, "If Govt will try to hack judiciary, the whole nation will be on the roads". In my view, the world will see another great change cum revolution in Pakistan, just like the revolution of Judiciary in the past, before upcoming Senate Elections. (Dr Babar Awan! please don't think to be the next Senate Chairman)
The government is dragging its feet on everything from implementation of the NRO decision to the Memogate scandal. If they have not done anything wrong they should be more than willing to cooperate and come out clean, increasing confidence in themselves and the democratic process.
Husain Haqqani's refusal to hand over his balckberry's privacy rights to the investigating commission is enough proof that he has a lot to hide. He has committed treason and his efforts to save his and his boss's skin should not be allowed to succeed.
Obviously Haqqani has something to hide. It might be better for him to cooperate and disclose who his directed him to write the memo. The comprador elite is struggling to keep up the facade.