Memogate row: Asma Jahangir quits as counsel for Haqqani

ISLAMABAD: Leading Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir today quit as counsel for former envoy to the US, Husain Haqqani, in legal proceedings related to the memo scandal, saying she had "no confidence" in the commission formed by the Supreme Court to probe the matter.

Jahangir, one of Pakistan's leading rights activist, said she had asked Haqqani to engage another lawyer to represent him in the apex court and the court-appointed commission that has been asked to conduct an inquiry into the alleged memo that sought US help to prevent a feared military coup in Pakistan in May.

A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry last week formed a commission comprising the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Islamabad, Balochistan and Sindh to conduct a probe into the memo issue in four weeks.

Jahangir alleged the judges of the Supreme Court were acting "under the influence of the (security) establishment".

She said: "And if nine judges of the Supreme Court can be (under their influence), then I am sorry to say I cannot have any expectations from High Court judges, who are under (the apex court judges)."

"Should we close our eyes? Should we allow ourselves to be fooled?... I have told my client he can appear before the commission if he wants to, and he will go. I have no confidence at all (in the commission)," Jahangir told Dawn News channel.

"This is the court's order and we have to follow it but I told (Haqqani) to engage some other lawyer," she said.