2:33 AM
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the memogate case till Thursday, FTNews reported.
A nine-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was hearing the case here today.
Asma Jahangir, the counsel for former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, argued before the Supreme Court that her client’s fundamental rights would be violated if direct investigation was carried out in the memogate scandal.
Jahangir, during the hearing, said that the court should not deprive her client of his fundamental rights on the pretext of national security, adding that Haqqani was being made a scapegoat in the controversy.
The counsel said that her client was in favour of the investigation of the issue but only in an appropriate forum, stressing that the parliamentary committee should complete its investigation.
During proceedings, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry mentioned in his remarks that a forum for the memogate probe could not be ‘chosen’ by the parties.
The chief justice remarked that investigation carried out under the Supreme Court’s supervision would be more transparent, adding that matters would not be kept secret like that of the Hamoodur Rahman commission.
Justice Tassaduq Hussain said that facts behind the scandal could only be established after the investigation.
She noted that the constitutional oaths of the chief justice and the prime minister are different.
She argued that a government could take action against traitors, judges could not.
Justice Jawad Khwaja during the hearing said that only a probe would help in assessing the violation of fundamental rights.
Jahangir also questioned the role of the media and said that news headlines were being made on the remarks and questions of the judges.
Posted in: NATIONAL
