Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in a meeting with DG-ISI Shuja Pasha. - File Photo.

As the country has not yet shaken off the impacts of memogate, another scandal with far more explosive consequences is waiting in the wings.

Lawyers, civil society activists, politicians and even the military men undoubtedly believe that the repercussions of Mehrangate scandal would be much reverberating and more pervasive than those of memogate scandal, and it is enough to shake everyone from top to bottom in the executive and military.

After years of dithering, the Supreme Court fixed Feb 29 as the hearing date for Air Marshal (retired) Asghar Khan’s famous petition in which he had sought punishment for all politicians who had received funds from the ISI.

In the petition filed in June 1996 with the Supreme Court, the air marshal had nominated former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) general Mirza Aslam Beg, former ISI chief Lt Gen Asad Durrani and Younis Habib of Habib and Mehran banks as the respondents and alleged that they had distributed some Rs140 million among politicians in 1990. The funds were only given to right-wing politicians who would go on to form the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), an alliance pitched against the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The IJI was the final nail in ensuring the formation of the then PML government headed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pieces of evidence – affidavits submitted by respondents before the court and first-hand accounts from the beneficiaries – so far substantiate the allegations that the ISI did give funds to elements within the IJT. However, the most important issue after ascertaining guilt is to figure out the options available to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to correct this historical wrong.

Questions that are being asked albeit in a hushed manner are if the court will bar all the guilty politicians and parties from contesting future elections especially since many are still active in politics. What punishment will be given to the former military bosses, who were privy to this exercise and approved its formal operation? Lastly, what possible observation or ruling can the court come up with to deter the ISI and other intelligence agencies from this practice?

Dawn spoke to a few legal eagles to ask them about their views on the subject. Asma Jahangir, renowned human rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer, said that she had not read the text of the petitions, but based on whatever had come out in the media on the subject, to her, Mehrangate is more important than memogate.

“The court should set up a high powered commission not only to investigate the particular incident highlighted by Asghar Khan, but other incidents in the history of Pakistan where ISI provided money to politicians. This is essential for democracy and national security,” said Ms Jahangir.

Barrister Zafarullah Khan, a Supreme Court lawyer, when asked to describe the possible fallouts of the petition, replied promptly by saying: “Political embarrassment (for the politicians). Nothing else!”

Barrister Khan is highly skeptical that the proceedings will result in legal action. “There will be directives and observations by the judges, but I don’t think there will be any legal action. It’s an old petition and leaves little space for the apex court to bring something concrete out of it,” he said.

“Secondly, even if it is proved that a certain politician received money from the ISI, the court can only pass an observation that it was an unbecoming act on his part. It can only ask institutions such as the ISI to stay away from politics in future,” he added.

Meanwhile, the party that will inevitably find itself at the centre of the scandal is not willing to give its side of the story yet. PML-N information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan, told Dawn: “Let’s not be judgmental. Let the court decide. If asked to elaborate, the party leadership would explain its position on the Asghar Khan petition.”

Justice (retired) Tariq Mehmood, a well-known lawyer of the Supreme Court, though opines that there is more to the resurfacing of the petition than what meets the eye. “Owing to the alleged involvement of Nawaz Sharif and agencies in this whole affair, the court was under tremendous pressure to take it up. Otherwise, it was a bygone event. There is, no doubt, that it will bring disrepute to the politicians whose names are mentioned in there,” he claimed.

Justice (retired) Tariq Mehmood commented if the hearing continues for a while – which is for sure given the intricacies involved in the drama – the PML-N will suffer. “Every single day media will raise questions and pour scorn on these politicians. The biggest beneficiary would undoubtedly be Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI),” he opined.

It is pertinent to mention here that Air Marhsal (retired) Asghar Khan has already joined Imran Khan’s PTI.

The retired justice insists that the Parliament should have taken care of this subject much earlier by bringing the secret funds of agencies to the house for discussion. “It is important to know how deep the involvement of the agencies is and where do they manage to secure funds for such projects. The politicians are not the only one to be blamed,” Justice Mehmood argued.

Ramzan Chaudhry, Supreme Court lawyer and member Pakistan Bar Council, shares the sentiments of the retired justice. “The hearing of the petition would have more moral and political implications than legal ones. For me the matter is a closed transaction of past. The Supreme Court cannot do much about it,” said Chaudhry.