Let the memo go if not pressed by the stakeholders….

The memo controversy, which has devoured all the issues facing the country right now, has taken another major turn after the petitions filed on the issue with the apex court were declared maintainable and a high-powered judicial commission was constituted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to probe it out within four-week time and furnish report.

The nine-member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan with voice-vote on Friday (Dec. 30) declared the petitions, mainly filed by PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif and his party leaders, on memo issue maintainable and also constituted a three-member commission under the head of Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court Justice Qazi Fiaz Essa and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Justice Musheer Alam as members. District and Sessions Judge Islamabad would assist the commission as secretary.

The constitutional and legal experts were of the view that the terms of reference of the Judicial Commission was mandated to the examination of the forensic evidence of the Blackberry messages exchanged between the former Pakistan Ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani and Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ejaz in the first half of May 2011.

The commission was also given powers to summon Hussain Haqqani, Mansoor Ejaz and the other associated people with the issue including DG ISI Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha to establish or otherwise, the links of Hussain Haqqani and some other people in country’s political hierarchy with the crafting of memo.

It is also not clear whether the commission would take some measures to have the input from the American officials associated with the memo in one way or the other including General James Jones, Mike Mullen and Leon Panetta as their testimony would also be of great significance to reach at some logical conclusion of the memo saga.

The legal and constitutional experts said that the taking up of the memo case in the apex court would open a Pandora’s Box and its fallout would be disastrous for many and it has the potential to rip through the foundations of many institutions and many a top people could fall prey to it.

The legal experts were of the view that before going into the nitty-gritty of memo the Director General ISI Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha would become its victim and the matter of his going to United Kingdom, ostensibly, without the permission of Chief Executive of the country, who happens to be his boss, would come under review.

Similarly, the issue of May 2, US attack in Abbottabad, which resulted in the killing of most wanted fugitive on the list of United States Osama bin Laden and its related issues whether the people at the helms of affairs were in knowledge of the US operation or not, and how the most wanted person was staying in a cantonment area and that too under the very nose of Pakistan Military Academy also figure in the cross examination of the commission or later in the apex court to the disadvantage of many.

So it was not in the interest of the Military Establishment to vigorously pursue the memo controversy in the apex court and they would try to hush up the matter in the court with dignity as more the issue would be discussed in the court of law the more it would expose the weaknesses and inefficiencies on part of the Establishment which they would neither like nor afford.

Similarly, the superior judiciary, which was never comfortable with the government for non-compliance of its orders in the past would not prefer to open the front against the Establishment and the government at a time and the way they had given escape route to the stakeholders on maintainability issue amply showed that they would let the matter go if not pressed by the stakeholders.

However, the legal and constitutional experts are of the view that the superior judiciary, which has tasted the taste of complete freedom and to some extend the pleasures of judicial activism, would definitely want to establish their writ but they would open the front of their choice. And the most likely arena would be the NRO implementation case where they would be in a commanding position to bring the government on its knees and establishment would also be standing by their side.