Memogate commission declares Haqqani guilty

Pakistan's former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, has been declared guilty by a commission probing the alleged 'memogate' scandal that hit the country last year. However, Husain Haqqani said that the memo commission’s proceedings were one-sided as it refused to hear him and will be challenged by his lawyers. Haqqani was forced to resign after Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed that Haqqani had asked him to pass on a memo, on behalf of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, to the American government calling for their help to oust Islamabad's military leadership. Both Haqqani and Zardari have rejected Ijaz's claims. The sealed report presented by Memo Commission was read out to the apex court’s nine-member bench. The report said the former ambassador was a functionary of government of Pakistan but, he was not loyal to the country, adding he used to elicit 2 million US dollars annually from the US government. ”He does not like to live in Pakistan as his interests rest with the US and its government”, the report notes adding that Haqqani did not have any land property in Pakistan. ”Haqqani forgot that he is an ambassador of Pakistan”, it added. “Hussain Haqqani is not loyal to Pakistan,” the report asserts adding he wanted to become the head of new proposed security team. The report said Hussain Haqqani violated the Constitution of Pakistan only to prove that the civil government in Islamabad is a friend to the US and can help the US in its non-proliferation efforts. The bench directed the report should be issued to all the petitioners and the media. The court issued orders to the former ambassador to appear before the court in the next hearing. The three-judge commission that probed the alleged scandal was constituted by Pakistan's Supreme Court on December 30, 2011. The court also summoned Haqqani to appear before the bench in the next hearing and adjourned the case for two weeks. During the commission's hearing, Ijaz was allowed to depose via video conferencing from London after he refused to come to Pakistan due to security concerns. Haqqani had refused to attend the hearings after he was not allowed to depose from abroad. The commission, running 24 marathon sessions and recoding statements of scores of concerned persons including that of the prime character Mansoor Ijaz’s on video link, prepared the report. The report incorporated over 300 evidences in it. Meanwhile Husain Haqqani said that the memo commission’s proceedings were one-sided as it refused to hear him and will be challenged by his lawyers. Haqqani tweeted on the micro-blogging website that the commission’s report is being used to distract attention from other embarrassing issues and that its claims are political and not legal. He also said that the commission is not a court and those claiming it has determined guilt or innocence are wrong. “Those who endorsed military dictators and allowed them 2 amend constitution cannot judge my -or anyone else's-patriotism,” Haqqani wrote on the Twitter.

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