Islamabad, Jan 9: In yet another twist in the memo scandal, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today suggested that the replies submitted to the Supreme Court by the chiefs of the army and ISI was “unconstitutional and illegal” as it were sent without the government's approval.
The responses given by the army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha to the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged memo did not have the approval of the competent authority as required under the rules of business, Gilani said.
No summary or formal proposal seeking the approval of the competent authority for these two replies was initiated by the Defence Ministry, Gilani said during an interview with People's Daily Online of China.
No approval was obtained for the replies from the Defence Minister, Gilani said told the web edition of the state-run Chinese daily.
Any official action by a government functionary without the prior approval of the government is “unconstitutional and illegal”, he said.
Gilani pointed out that the Supreme Court Chief Justice had observed that any act of a government functionary without the government's nod is unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
The Prime Minister said in both the memo controversy and the recent NATO air strike on Pakistani military border posts, the civil and military leadership of Pakistan had held detailed meetings and taken immediate decisions.
He said both issues were referred to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and the government had accepted the resignation of Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's former envoy to the US.
