Pak panel says memo authentic; drafted on Haqqani's directions

Islamabad, Jun 12: A

judicial commission has concluded that the country's former Ambassador to the US,

, was behind a mysterious memo that sought US help to stave off a feared coup and said he was "not loyal" to the country while serving as an envoy.

The Supreme Court-appointed commission's findings were made public as a nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry began examining the panel's report this morning.

After the sealed report was presented to the bench, the Chief Justice asked Attorney General Irfan Qadir to read out its recommendations.

The report said Haqqani was "not loyal" to Pakistan while serving as the envoy in the US and had sought to undermine the security of the country's nuclear assets, the armed forces, the Inter-Services Intelligence and the Constitution.

The panel further concluded that the alleged memo was authentic and was drafted on Haqqani's instructions.

It concluded that Haqqani had sought US support through the memo and that he had wanted to head a new national security set-up.

The panel further said Haqqani had not accounted for USD two million spent from a secret fund of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington.

The apex court adjourned the matter for two weeks and directed Haqqani to appear in person at the next hearing. It also issued notices to all parties involved in the case.

The bench directed authorities to make the judicial commission's report public.

Haqqani, currently in the US, was forced to quit after Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz made the memo public last year.

PTI