SC begins hearing into Memogate

Pakistan's Supreme Court opened hearings into a secret memo sent to Washington that has sharply raised tensions between the powerful military and the civilian government

Pakistan’s Supreme Court opened hearings Monday into a secret memo sent to Washington that has sharply raised tensions between the powerful military and the civilian government.

The proceedings could hurt President Asif Ali Zardari and further enflame relations between the government and the military,which was outraged by the letter asking for US help in reining in the army.

Last week,the army chief and the countrys spy chief called for an probe into the affair in statements to the Supreme Court. The apex court is acting on 11 petitions. The petitions allege the countrys envoy to US,Husain Haqqani,masterminded the letter,and seek judicial intervention to determine if he acted with the backing of Zardaris government.

The apex court Monday also appeared headed for a confrontation with the government,with the nine-member bench,led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry,expressing displeasure at the remarks of federal ministers on its handling of the memogate scandal. Top leaders of the PPP had earlier questioned the courts decision to set up a panel to probe the memo issue,saying only the executive had the power to appoint such a panel.

The Chief Justice noted that Zardari,one of the 10 respondents in the case,had not filed his reply within the deadline. He said failure to deny allegations was tantamount to accepting charges.