No political cell working in President House

Rejecting the impression presidency is involved in political activities, Secretary to President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday, Malik Asif Hayat, said that no political cell had been operating in the President House since September 2008.

A three-member bench of the apex court resumed hearing of the petition filed by Air Martial (Retd) Asghar Khan pertaining to Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) distributing money among politicians to change the election results.

The petitioner based on an affidavit of General Asad Durrani had accused the ISI of financing politicians in the 1990 elections by dishing out Rs140 million to create the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and prevent Benazir Bhutto’s PPP from winning the polls.

In the course of hearing, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain inquired of the president’s secretary as to whether a political cell existed in the Presidency prior to Sept 2008. In reply to this, the secretary to president said that it was possible that an election information cell had operated from the President House in the past.

He noted, “There were some files in the possession of the president’s military secretary, adding that, he would be able to respond on the matter once he had reviewed those.”

Chief Justice Iftikhar said that the then president’s support for the IJI was a violation of his oath, reiterating that the head of state should not support any political group. He noted, “Under the Constitution, the president is the head of state, not the chief of a political party.”

The court also stated General Baig and Asad Durrani acted individually when handed out money to politicians, adding that the president was always the head of the state, and not of any political party. He also stated that the whole institution could not be blamed for it.

The court also remarked that the then army chief should not have acted the way he did and the events of 1999 and November 3 could have been avoided.

The then head of the Military Intelligence, Brig (retd) Hamid Saeed, could not appear for the hearing on account of ill health.

The bench subsequently issued summons for Saeed, who Durrani previously alleged had a role in the distribution of money among politicians, for Thursday.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Oct 17 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.