The memogate affair continued, even though leading witness Mansoor Ijaz did not appear before the investigative commission of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, as he had earlier announced. The commission instead examined Interior Minister Rehman Malik about the security Mr Ijaz was to be afforded. Mr Ijaz’s counsel, Mr Akram Sheikh, subjected Mr Malik to criticism, and reminded him that he was in charge of Ms Benazir Bhutto’s security on the day she was killed, and that if that two-time Prime Minister had not been safe, his client did not expect to be. It may be mentioned that the Prime Minister had said clearly that the Interior Ministry was responsible for Mr Ijaz’s security, and that made Mr Malik responsible. Mr Malik claimed in his testimony that he had not threatened Mr Ijaz, and claimed to have only told the media that if the Parliamentary Committee (presumably the one of National Security, which is also probing the affair) placed anyone’s name on the ECL, the order would be complied with.
At this point, the government and its ministers can afford to be gracious, for Mr Ijaz is not coming to Pakistan, and the commission is not going abroad, and thus his testimony, which is crucial to establishing the authorship of the memo, will not be available, and therefore the chance that he might incriminate the President disappears. However, the President will not be able to escape suspicion easily. For that, it was necessary that Mr Ijaz appear before the commission, record his testimony, and for the President, through counsel, to present whatever rebuttal, as needed. The commission has given a fresh date of hearing, February 9, to Mr Ijaz, though it has already given him two dates to come and depose. There is so far no indication that he will revise his decision, even though Mr Malik assured the commission that he would be provided foolproof security, and that an Army officer would be part of the command team.
The commission must determine the truth. The commission can either issue orders itself, or have them issued by the Supreme Court, for Mr Ijaz to be provided the requisite security, so that he can depose before it. The Parliamentary Committee on National Security has rejected an application that Mr Ijaz be placed on the ECL, and has asked the Attorney General to brief it on the security measures for Mr Ijaz. The government must make sure that Mr Ijaz appears, for otherwise the suspicion cast on the President will linger.