Memogate case: FIA has contacted Interpol on Husain Haqqani matter, SC told

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed on Thursday that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has contacted Interpol on the matter of former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a suo motu case pertaining to the implementation of the 2011 Memogate scandal.

During the hearing, senior legal expert Ahmer Bilal Soofi informed the bench that the FIA has submitted a challan in the special court against Haqqani.

“FIA has contacted Interpol and permanent warrants have been issued for Haqqani,” he added.

Soofi further said, “The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has granted FIA authority and a progress report will be submitted during the next hearing.”

Justice Nisar, “I want to wrap up this case before I leave.”

The hearing of the case was then adjourned for an indefinite period.

Memogate scandal

The Memogate scandal erupted in 2011, when Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed to have received an 'anti-army' memo from Haqqani, the then-Pakistan envoy in Washington DC, for then-US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

The memo sent by Haqqani allegedly mentioned a possible army coup in Pakistan following the US raid in Abbottabad to kill Osama bin Laden.

It also allegedly sought assistance from the US for the then-Pakistan Peoples Party government for 'reigning in the military and intelligence agencies'.

In 2012, a judicial commission was tasked to probe the case, and it concluded that the memo was authentic and authored by the former envoy.

The commission said the purpose of the memo was to convince American officials that Pakistan's civilian government was 'pro-US'.

The scandal, taken to the Supreme Court by then-opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and several others, led to Haqqani's resignation and subsequent exit from the country.

Resurrection of the case

On February 1, 2018 the Supreme Court constituted a three-member bench to resume hearing of the controversial Memogate case, and issued a notice to Hussain Haqqani the same day.

Later that month, the apex court issued arrest warrants for the former ambassador. In an attempt to get Haqqani to appear in the court, the Federal Investigation Agency was reported to have approached Interpol on February 15 to issue red warrants for him.