**Attorney general implies PM’s statement is not correct
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Ahmad Noorani
Thursday, January 12, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq on Wednesday negated the prime minister’s statement that replies submitted by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and DG-ISI Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha were illegal and unconstitutional.
The AG, the top law officer of the government, declared in categorical words that both the replies have “no legal problem, whatsoever”. The prime minister has been saying that the army chief and the ISI chief had bypassed the rules of business and he repeated his statement to the media on Wednesday night.
“There is no legal problem of any kind with the affidavits/replies of these two gentlemen, COAS and General Pasha, submitted in the Supreme Court in memogate,” the attorney general told The News during a telephone talk.
Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq said linking the submission of a reply or a letter by the former secretary defence to the statements of the two army generals was not correct.
“Former secretary defence Lt Gen (R) Naeem Khalid Lodhi had sent a letter directly to the office of the registrar of Supreme Court and this was not routed through me,” the attorney general said, adding: “Even during the hearing the chief justice inquired from me whether I was representing the ministry of defence, I had stated that I did not receive any instructions from the defence ministry in this regard so am not representing them.”
The AG also made a startling revelation that initially the response of the DG-ISI came directly to him and he had refused to accept it. “I had told them that I was not answerable to them and they should come through the ministry of defence and if the ministry of defence asked him he will file the replies in the Supreme Court,” the AG said.
The AG further explained that at first the reply of the COAS was unsigned. “I also did not accept it and asked them to get it signed. Ministry of defence sent a letter requesting submission of reply of COAS in Supreme Court,” the AG said adding: “Later, the JAG Branch (official) informed that he is authorized to sign on behalf of COAS.” “Meanwhile, the reply of DG-ISI also came through the proper channel of defence ministry to my office and thus were submitted accordingly,” Maulvi Anwar said. “So, there was nothing wrong and there is no quarrel of the responses of the COAS and DG-ISI,” the AG insisted.
He said that in his letter to the registrar former secretary defence said that army and ISI were administratively under control of the government but they were not under operational control of the government. “The officers about whom he (former secretary defence) was informing the SC that they are not under the operational control of the government were admitting the authority of the government and were coming to Supreme Court through me while he (former secretary defence) was contacting the Supreme Court directly by bypassing me,” the AG commented. He said that this was the letter created problems while there was no problem with the responses of COAS and DG-ISI.
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My comments:** The governments Attorney General contradicts PM Gilani’s allegation and says that there was “no legal problem, whatsoever” with Generals Kayani and Pasha’s submissions to the Supreme Court. Will the PM sack the AG now?