ISLAMABAD: The judicial commission set up by the Supreme Court to investigate the ‘memogate’ scandal will start its proceedings in the Islamabad High Court building on Monday.
The office of District and Sessions Judge of Islamabad, Raja Jawwad Abbas Hassan, who has been appointed as secretary to the commission, confirmed on Saturday that a notification about the meeting had been issued in consultation with Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who heads the commission.
Other members of the inquiry commission are Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam. It has been asked to come up with its findings in one month.
Sources in the judiciary said the commission’s secretary had issued notices to respondents to the petitions on the memo case, including the ISI chief Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha, former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, secretaries of the cabinet, interior and foreign affairs divisions and former US adviser on national security James Jones.
A senior IHC official told Dawn that Justice Hameedur Rehman, who was on leave from Dec 27 to Jan 7, had cancelled his remaining leave to attend the meeting and would be in Islamabad by Sunday evening.
He said the first meeting would be introductory and examine the documents produced before the apex court during the hearing on the memo case.
The commission will exercise powers of judicial officers and will be free to obtain services of advocates, experts of forensic science and cyber crimes.
Federal secretaries of interior, cabinet and foreign affairs, chief secretaries of the four provinces, the FIA director general, inspector generals of police and Pakistan’s ambassador to the US and high commissioner to Britain will provide necessary assistance to the commission.
The government, through cabinet division secretary, will provide logistic support to the commission subject to its demand through the secretary of the commission which will be authorised to collect evidence within and outside the country.