Federal Investigation Agency on Monday registered a case against former envoy to the United States Hussain Haqqani accusing him of committing "criminal breach of trust, misuse of authority and embezzlement of funds", DawnNewsTV reported.
Haqqani is the principal accused in the Memogate scandal.
According to the first information report, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the offences occured at the Pakistan Embassy in the US.
The case was registered under Section 3,4, 409, 420, and 109 of Pakistan Penal Code following an inquiry conducted by the anti-corruption establishment.
Now that a case has been registered, FIA will initiate the process for issuance of red warrant against the accused.
Last month, the Supreme Court had issued an arrest warrant for the former envoy, following which the agency had sought the assistance of Interpol in arresting Haqqani.
Know more: 'What measures have been taken to bring back Husain Haqqani?' SC asks
In 2012, a judicial commission tasked with probing the matter had submitted its report to the apex court. It held Haqqani guilty of authoring the controversial memorandum and said that he “is not loyal to the country”.
Recent developments
On February 1, the SC had constituted a three-member bench to resume hearings of the controversial Memogate case involving the former ambassador to the US.
The case, first taken to the apex court by then opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, had forced Haqqani's resignation.
In December last year, three people had separately lodged FIRs against Hussain Haqqani in two police stations of Kohat for delivering hate speeches and writing books and articles against the armed forces and the 'sovereignty of Pakistan'.
The complainants alleged that Haqqani was responsible for the Memogate scandal and had issued visas to CIA and Indian agents while serving as Pakistani ambassador to the US. They had argued that Haqqani maligned Pakistan in the books he wrote, "which proves that he is a traitor".
The cases were registered under Sections 120(b) (hatching a criminal conspiracy) and 121(a) (waging a war against Pakistan) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
More recently, Haqqani's name had echoed in the apex court while a three-judge bench heard a set of petitions moved by PTI chief Imran Khan and a group of citizens in connection with the right of overseas Pakistanis to participate in the democratic process.
The case had reminded the chief justice of Haqqani.
“Should we also give him the right to vote?” the chief justice had wondered.
"Why don’t we issue him [Haqqani] a notice and summon him to face the Memogate case," the chief justice had then said.
Later, while reviewing previous progress on the case, the bench had observed that, following his resignation, Haqqani had left the country on the assurance that he would return, but never did.
