Haqqani asserts to be guiltless but refuses cooperation

Haqqani asserts to be guiltless but refuses cooperation

The former ambassador of Pakistan to US, Hussain Haqqani asserts to be innocent but is not cooperating with the judiciary on Memogate scandal.  After being repeatedly told by the three-member commission that delay in cooperation would cause an unfavourable
implication, Haqqani has turned down judiciary’s request to hand over his BlackBerry.

When asked about his BlackBerry, Haqqani said that he is unaware of where his phone is. “I came to Pakistan on short notice and left behind my belongings in the US. I have no information right now about where my BlackBerry set is. It might be lying somewhere
at my US residence or Pakistan’s embassy in the US,” he added.

Moreover, when the commission requested his approval to give up his privacy rights with the manufacturer of blackberry devices, he declined and said, “I may require approval of the government as I am bound to observe the Official Secret Act.”

He added that he has bought a new set and has requested the Foreign Office officers to find his cell phone. His lawyer, Zahid Bukhari also refused to hand over the BlackBerry data, terming that it was duty of the government to provide data to the commission.

He also declined to share his BlackBerry PIN code with the commission. Furthermore, when Justice Isa asked Haqqani’s lawyer, if the waiver of privacy rights is going to harm his client, he did not address the question properly.

Nevertheless, the commission excused Haqqani from the future hearings of the case, but he was requested to visit to the hearings, if he wanted.

In addition, Mansoor Ijaz’s lawyer, Akram Sheikh uttered that his client will be present to give evidence on January 16 at 9am.

On the contrary, sixteen US intellectuals from think tank have raised their concerns over Haqqani’s safety in Pakistan. These scholars wrote to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, demanding Obama government to “make appropriate public statements to ensure
that Husain Haqqani is not physically harmed and that due process of law is followed.”

They believe that there is a threat to Haqqani’s life in Pakistan and they have concerns that Pakistani media has already claimed him to be culpable of treason.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=8710

Posted by Mursil Mehmood Butt on Jan 10 2012. Filed under Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry