The counsel for Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the central figure in the Memogate controversy, on Monday said that his client wanted to record his testimony in London or Zurich rather than visit Pakistan. The Judicial Commission investigating the Memogate on January 16 asked Ijaz to personally appear before the court to record his statement.
Talking to media persons on the Supreme Court premises, Akram Sheikh, counsel for Ijaz, said he held a teleconference with his client after he met Inspector General of Police Islamabad. According to Sheikh, he briefed his client on the proposed security arrangements. Akram Sheikh said: "Ijaz underlined he has been given no assurance by any person on behalf of Pakistan government to ward off his apprehensions regarding his security."
Later on, Sheikh also filed an application in Judicial Commission's secretary's office for recording Ijaz's testimony outside Pakistan with a plea that the apex court had given a clear mandate in its order to the Commission to collect evidence within and outside Pakistan according to prevailing laws on the subject. However, Haqqani's counsel Zahid Bokhari filed a petition with the Judicial Commission, urging it to turn down Ijaz's request to record his statement out of the country. "Application for closing the right of recording of statement of Mansoor Ijaz has been filed," Bokhari stated. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani while in Lahore over the weekend stated that under the Constitution and under the system, it was the duty of the Ministry of Interior to provide him (Ijaz) with security. His statement was taken to imply that the government would not spend billions on Ijaz's security.
Sheikh added that Ijaz's arrival under the protection of an SHO, as announced by the Prime Minister yesterday (Sunday), was highly deplorable, adding that Ijaz had concrete fear that electronic evidence in the memo case could be completely destroyed or tampered with.
Sheikh added that Ijaz was concerned about not wasting Pakistani government's money on his security, "so, he wants to record his statement while sitting in his office in London. He is ready to tell the truth and present all evidence to the Commission."
Days before Ijaz's planned visit to Pakistan, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), which too is investigating the Memogate scandal, asked Ijaz to appear on January 26. To further complicate matters with respect to the government's intent to provide Ijaz security in the event that he arrives in Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik said "if the PCNS desires Ijaz's name could be placed in the Exit Control List (ECL)."
Meanwhile, Attorney General for Pakistan Maluvi Anwar-ul-Haq also told the media in the Supreme Court building that an Army Officer had been deputed for the security of Ijaz, saying in case Ijaz refused to appear before the Commission to record his testimony then it would be the discretion of the Commission to decide the issue.
"The government has finalised all the arrangements relating to security of Mansoor Ijaz in pursuance of the Judicial Commission directions as well as under the limits of the law," the AGP stated. Sheikh said, "It seems like a well-orchestrated trap to hold Mansoor Ijaz indefinitely in Pakistan after his deposition before the Commission, therefore, Ijaz has decided to make a request to the Commission to record his statement in strict compliance with the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan... in London or Zurich."
Sheikh added that his client decided to submit an application to the Commission to record his statement outside Pakistan after reviewing security arrangements for his planned visit on January 23 (yesterday). The lawyer said he had informed Ijaz of "fundamental changes" in the security arrangements, which he claimed were a "stark violation" of the commission's orders issued on January 9 and 16. Sheikh further claimed that even the Pakistan Army had backed out on assurances regarding the provision of security to Ijaz.
He claimed these assurances were held out at a meeting of army's Corps Commanders on January 12, adding that he had also met the Islamabad police chief to discuss the security arrangements for his client. Deputy Inspector General of Police Mujibur Rehman had been made the focal person for these arrangements and police officials had said that they would seek assistance from the armed forces only if required, Sheikh said.
Referring to these developments, Sheikh said Ijaz was "not willing to fall into the trap laid by the government," and appear before the parliamentary panel. Sheikh said that legal experts had also advised Ijaz that the parliamentary committee could not summon a foreigner. However, he argued that the PNSC could record his (Ijaz) statement in London or Zurich or use any testimony he provides to the Judicial Commission.
"Ijaz decided in Pakistan's best interests that his statement should be recorded outside Pakistan. He is not a criminal that he has to appear before a court, he offered to cooperate on a voluntary basis and no court or Commission has the powers to summon a foreigner," Sheikh asserted.
AFP adds: A star witness asked to appear by judges investigating a major scandal implicating the government wants to record his statement abroad rather than visit Pakistan, his lawyer said Monday. But his lawyer Akram Sheikh told reporters that his client was reluctant to visit country, fearing that he would be detained indefinitely.
"It seems like a well-orchestrated trap to hold Mr Ijaz indefinitely in Pakistan after his deposition before the commission," Sheikh said, adding that his client had requested that his testimony be recorded in London or Zurich. "Mr Ijaz refuses to walk knowingly into the trap being laid by the government and waits to speak the truth of this case," he told reporters.
In an op-ed piece written in the Financial Times on October 10, Ijaz alleged that a senior Pakistani diplomat telephoned him asking for help because Zardari needed to communicate an urgent message to the Americans. The scandal, known as "memogate", has already cost the job of Zardari's close aide and former Pakistani ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani - who has denied any involvement in the affair. Ijaz's lawyer said that his client fears that the evidence can be destroyed by the Pakistan government if he hands it over to them.
"Mr Ijaz has a concrete fear that electronic evidence in the memo case can be completely destroyed," Sheikh said, adding that Ijaz had also declined to appear before a parliamentary committee separately probing the memo issue. "The committee can't summon a foreign national and could instead, after taking an appointment from Mr Mansoor, record his statement in London or Zurich or use his testimony he gives to the commission."
ISI chief lieutenant general Ahmad Shuja Pasha said last month that Ijaz had enough evidence to back up his allegations and called for a "forensic examination" of the memo. The court probe puts fresh pressure on Zardari, who visited Dubai in December over health fears, with most observers expecting early elections sometime this year.
Tensions between the army and government soared over the memo, allegedly delivered to then US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, in May and first made public by Ijaz in October. The current civilian administration headed by Zardari has lurched from crisis to crisis since coming to power in 2008 following elections held a month after the assassination of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
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