ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on National Security investigating the controversial memo issue decided on Friday to summon Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha, former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani and Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz. The 17-member committee tasked on Nov 30 to investigate the matter already held a couple of preliminary meetings and has been briefed by officials of the defence and foreign ministries.
The committee decided to first summon the ISI chief and then the others.
Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan, a PML-N member of the committee, told Dawn that the committee could achieve its objective if it succeeded in verifying from the Canada-based BlackBerry company the evidence provided by Mansoor Ijaz.
The committee decided to seek copies of statements and replies submitted to the Supreme Court during its proceedings on the maintainability of the petitions on the memo scandal.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, PCNS chairman Senator Raza Rabbani said: “Everybody required in the probe will be called individually.”
He said diplomatic channels would be used to contact and summon Mansoor Ijaz from the US.
The committee will meet before January 10 to discuss the matter. “The members have been provided relevant documents on the memo issue,” he said.
When asked if the memo was an issue, Mr Rabbani said the committee would decide about it. He said there was a lot of difference between the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court and proceedings of the parliamentary committee. He said the committee had discussed two issues -- Nato air strikes on two Pakistani military posts and the memo scandal.
Mr Rabbani said the secretariat of the committee had prepared a working draft about its mandate to review Pakistan’s foreign policy with particular reference to its relations with the United States in the war on terror. This draft, he said, had been prepared on the basis of recommendations of members of the committee. It would be finalised it at a meeting on Tuesday.
He said the minister and secretary of finance had been asked to brief the committee on the financial impact of aid suspension, but they were abroad and could not attend the meeting.
“They will now attend Tuesday’s meeting to help finalise the draft for its submission to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who will convene a joint session of parliament for its approval,” Mr Rabbani said.
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