Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday extended by six weeks the term of a judicial panel probing a mysterious memo that sought US help for staving off a feared coup after the killing of Osama bin Laden in May last year.
A 10-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry granted the extension in response to a petition from the three-member judicial commission. The bench observed that the commission’s probe is of great importance and the panel should conclude its work soon. The current term of the commission is set to end on March 31. The commission was formed after Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz made public the alleged memo late last year. Pakistan’s envoy to the US Husain Haqqani was forced to quit after Ijaz claimed he had drafted and delivered the document to a senior US military official on Haqqani’s instructions.
However, Ijaz has been unable to provide any substantial evidence to back up his claims during his deposition before the commission. Ijaz recorded his statement via a video link from London, saying he could not travel to Pakistan due to security concerns. (PTI)