The Supreme Court was informed on Thursday that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was in contact with Interpol on the matter of former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a suo motu case pertaining to the implementation of the 2011 Memogate scandal. During the hearing, senior legal expert Ahmer Bilal Soofi informed the bench that the FIA had submitted a challan in the special court against Haqqani. “FIA has contacted Interpol and permanent warrants have been issued for Haqqani,” he added. Soofi further said, “The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has granted the FIA authority and a progress report will be submitted during the next hearing.” Justice Nisar, “I want to wrap up this case before I leave.” The hearing of the case was then adjourned for an indefinite period. The Memogate scandal erupted in 2011, when Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed to have received an “anti-army” memo from Haqqani, the then Pakistan envoy in Washington DC, for the then US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. The memo sent by Haqqani allegedly mentioned a possible army coup in Pakistan following the US raid in Abbottabad to kill Osama bin Laden. It also allegedly sought assistance from the US for the then Pakistan People’s Party government for “reigning in the military and intelligence agencies”. In 2012, a judicial commission was tasked to probe the case, and it concluded that the memo was authentic and authored by the former envoy. The commission said the purpose of the memo was to convince American officials that Pakistan’s civilian government was “pro-US”. The scandal, taken to the Supreme Court by then opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and several others, led to Haqqani’s resignation and subsequent exit from the country. In February this year, the Supreme Court constituted a three-member bench to resume hearing of the controversial Memogate case, and issued a notice to Haqqani the same day. Later that month, the apex court issued arrest warrants for the former ambassador. Published in Daily Times, October 19th 2018.