Islamabad:
The Pakistani judicial commission, investigating the Memogate scandal, has issued a notice to President Asif Ali Zardari to present his views on the issue at the next hearing on January 9.
Mr Zardari is not required to appear in person before the panel and could submit his views through a counsel, TV news channels quoted officials as saying.
At its first meeting held on January 2, the Supreme Court-appointed commission had directed officials to send notices to all respondents and petitioners in the Memogate case in the apex court.
The respondents include Zardari, Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, Pakistans former envoy to the US, Husain Haqqani, and Mansoor Ijaz, the Pakistani-American businessman who made public the alleged memo that sought American help to stave off a military coup in Pakistan.
The commission comprising the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad is scheduled to hold its next meeting on January 9.
It has directed Haqqani to appear before it on that day.
The commission has also directed government officials to obtain records of all BlackBerry communications between Haqqani and Ijaz, who created a storm in Pakistan's diplomatic and political circles by making the memo public.
The apex court last week formed the three-judge commission to probe the memo issue within four weeks, adding to the pressure on the civilian government over the Memogate scandal.