Bukhari agrees to represent Haqqani

KARACHI: Former Pakistan ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani's counsel Zahid Bukhari, after being coerced, agreed to represent his client in the "memogate" scandal case, the media reported on Friday.

Earlier, Bukhari had said that he had never been scolded and insulted in court before and asked his client to engage another counsel.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, heading the Judicial Commission probing the "memogate" scandal, told Bukhari that he should stick to pertinent questions and not lose his temper.

Bukhari, in response, said that he had never been scolded like this before in a legal forum, and added, that he cannot continue in the case anymore and his client should find another counsel.

Earlier on Friday, Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz has said that he has documentary evidence regarding President Asif Ali Zardari's Swiss bank transactions.

Talking to the media on his arrival at the Pakistan High Commission in London, Ijaz said that presidential immunity could be in jeopardy if the cases against President Zardari.

On Thursday, the commission gave three more days to both parties for cross-examination. However, Ijaz said that the session would end for him after Sunday.

Bukhari did not ask a single question regarding the memogate scandal, instead he highlighted Ijaz's past, links to intelligence agencies and cases against him in the US.

The sudden appearance of Pakistan's former ambassador to the US surprised everyone at the forum.

Ijaz said that Haqqani did not want to hand over his Blackberry PIN code to the commission as it had incriminating evidence to prove that a conversation between Haqqani and himself did take place.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa also confirmed the same fact.