PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday sought the interior ministry’s comments on a petition seeking orders for the Commission of Inquiry into the Abbottabad Incident to probe the ‘prior information’ allegedly available with then president Asif Ali Zardari about the May 2011 US military operation against Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Nasir Mehfooz issued the order after holding preliminary hearing into the petition of freelance journalist Shahid Orakzai pleading the court to order the Abbottabad commission to examine the ‘evidence’ of the alleged communication between former president Zardari and then Pakistani ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani prior to the American Abbottabad raid and submit report about it within 30 days.

Senior lawyer Muzzamil Khan told the bench that Mr Zardari had given him the power of attorney and therefore, he would represent him in the case.

Journalist accuses Zardari of having prior knowledge of 2011 US action against Osama

The bench later fixed Feb 6 for the next hearing into the case asking the federal government to file comments about the petition before that date.

Mr Orakzai alleged that the respondent (Asif Zardari) was covertly connected with the American CIA in relation to its operation against Osama bin Laden and his connection should be proven before the Commission of Inquiry into the Abbottabad Incident.

He claimed that in view of the ‘betrayal’ in 2011, Mr Zardari’s latest oath as a member of the National Assembly couldn’t be trusted for the purpose of the Constitution.

Other respondents in the petition are chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into Abbottabad Incident retired Justice Javed Iqbal and the interior secretary.

The petitioner claimed that in the last week of April 2011, Mr Zardari as the country’s president had betrayed the ‘security of Pakistan’ by concealing secret information received from Washington DC about the US military operation against Osama bin Laden.

“For sure, he (Mr Zardari) had no means to confirm the intelligence yet he could avert the (Abbottabad) attack either by calling the US ambassador or making a proclamation of emergency under Article 232 of the Constitution,” he said.

The petitioner claimed that the Abbottabad commission’s chairman was duly informed of the matter in writing and thereafter, the commission had summoned him.

He added that he had assured the commission that he held irrefutable documentary evidence showing that Mr Zardari did know about the attack in the last week of April 2011, and therefore, the evidence could be examined.

The petitioner said as interim relief to him, Mr Zardari’s membership of the National Assembly could be suspended by the court and that he could also be stopped from leaving the country.

He said the ‘fact’ about the information received by Mr Zardari was more important for the country’s security than any other issue.

“This court shall ask the (Abbottabad commission’s) chairman why the evidence/proof of the treacherous communication was not examined by the commission,” he said.

The petitioner alleged that the secret information reached the president through a woman MNA, who was identified in the Supreme Court records regarding the Memogate case.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2019