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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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			<title>‘Vindicated’: Pakistan’s justice system is fair, says Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/392932/%e2%80%98vindicated%e2%80%99-pakistan%e2%80%99s-justice-system-is-fair-says-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/392932/%e2%80%98vindicated%e2%80%99-pakistan%e2%80%99s-justice-system-is-fair-says-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jun 12 00:23:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Judicial commission’s report has corroborated the ‘truth’ Mansoor Ijaz was speaking from day one.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The self-styled whistle-blower of the Memogate scandal said that the judicial commission’s report has corroborated the ‘truth’ he was speaking from day one.

“Speaking that truth was a moral obligation for me,” Mansoor Ijaz, the American businessman of Pakistani descent, told The Express Tribune in an exclusive telephone interview.

“Though it caused harm to my family, my business and my political relationships – I even received death threats – the value of the truth I spoke outweighed all of this,” he said.

Ijaz said that “in presenting the truth faithfully,” he gave the institutions of justice in Pakistan the ability to ensure that “never again would Pakistan’s political leaders dream of telling such lies in hopes they could be covered up.”

Ijaz praised the Pakistan Army for “standing its ground in defending the country against those who would compromise its security but never wavered in their commitment to insure democracy and justice kept to their true paths”.

He also paid tribute to the judiciary for “ensuring that every party in the case was given full opportunity to defend the case and present the evidence.”

He said the court’s determination proved that justice was imparted fairly and without consideration to a single political factor that subordinates the country’s national interests. “I am proud to say as an American of Pakistani origin today that Pakistan’s justice system was just and fair,” Ijaz said.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Memo was not signed by Haqqani: Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/351188/us-did-not-want-me-to-meet-with-pasha-mansoor-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/351188/us-did-not-want-me-to-meet-with-pasha-mansoor-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Mar 12 20:57:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=351188</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz admits Haqqani never signed any memo, insists memo can be delivered without being signed.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[When the memogate hearings resumed on Friday, the defendant, had a minor setback as his chief counsel threatened to quit.

Husain Haqqani though did manage to coax his lawyer Zahid Bukhari to resume cross questioning Mansoor Ijaz in the Memogate case.

This was not before Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, heading the commission, offered to have his colleagues record the statements if he was causing discomfort to Bukhari. If the lawyer still wished  to leave, his assistant could continue with the questioning. If they were unwilling, Haqqani would be asked, if not the commission itself would conduct questioning.

Though, after a short recess, the court was able to continue, with Bukhari leading the defendant's legal team.

Code name Burhan fixed meeting with Pasha: Ijaz

When Haqqani's counsel finally resumed, he asked Ijaz who had fixed his meeting with DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)?

Ijaz answered that the fixer was called Burhan (code name). He claimed to be the Lt. General's assistant, Ijaz said.

If the US would have asked him, he would have declined Pasha's invitation.

Which hotel did you get that memo(pad)

Asked about writing the memo, Ijaz reiterated that it was dictated by Haqqani during a 16 minute phone call on May 9, the memo was noted down.

He said Haqqani asked him to verbally deliver the message however he typed it on the request of General James Jones.

To the question, Ijaz replied that he had no such BlackBerry Message (BBM) or email available with him in which Haqqani used the word "memo", however, the word “message” was used which is available in the BBM’s.

He said after delivering the memo he sent a message to Haqqani and also shared the draft of the memo with him.

When the counsel asked Ijaz whether the memo was signed, he conceded that it was not. However, he continued that it was not necessary that a memo be signed, it can be delivered without a signature and Haqqani did not sign it.

“Did you record the phone call of Haqqani in which he asked you to deliver the message?" asked Bukhari to which Ijaz replied in the negative, “but I took notes”.

Ijaz said that that he spoke to Haqqani on phone for about 16 minutes. When he called Haqqani at the hotel, a person on the other side of the phone connected Ijaz through to the former Ambassador.

To a question Ijaz said that he had maintained contact with the former Ambassador via BBM's well before their first meeting in 2009.

Ijaz said that during the call on May 9 Haqqani discussed the memo with him for the first time.

Bukhari then objected to the paper on which Ijaz had taken notes. It was a notepad from a hotel in Zurich. The businessman replied that while he took the notes when he was at home, however the notepad he used to write it down was taken from the hotel he stayed at some days prior.

“Do you take notepads from each hotel you stay” asked Bukhari and the laughter spread in the court room.

Bukhari pressed that Ijaz was in Zurich when he took these notes however Ijaz insisted that he was at his Monaco residence when he called Haqqani in London’s hotel adding “I can prove it”.

Bukhari asserted that Haqqani called Ijaz to request him to be mild in his articles against Pakistan, ISI and Pakistan’s nuclear capability but Ijaz was confident that Haqqani wanted a message to be delivered through him.

Ijaz said that Haqqani during the phone call told him about ground realities in Pakistan after the May 2 raid.

During the cross examination, Zahid Hussain Bukhari, Counsel for Hussain Haqqani produced Ijaz's TV and Radio interviews to the Commission after May 2,2011 incident and apprised the Commission about content of his comments.

Bokhari asked the Ijaz that how long conversation he had with Haqqani on Memo issue and where did it take place. Ijaz said that they spoke for 16 over the contents of Memo and he took notes.

On this point, Bokhari raised the question that how could such a Memorandum be written which covers almost all important issues of the Pakistan in a short span of time. Ijaz said that he had also made Black Berry messages as part of Memorandum.

The Judicial Commission probing the Memo issue adjourns its hearing till tomorrow (Saturday) directing Haqqani'scounsel to submit transcript and CD of Mansoor Ijaz Interviews which were given to Fox news and other media organizations after May 2,2011 incident.

Correction: Due to an editing error, it was incorrectly stated that the US had asked Mansoor Ijaz not to meet Pasha.]]>
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			<title>Memogate commission: Ijaz denies opposing Pakistan’s nuclear programme</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350765/memogate-commission-ijaz-denies-opposing-pakistan%e2%80%99s-nuclear-programme</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350765/memogate-commission-ijaz-denies-opposing-pakistan%e2%80%99s-nuclear-programme#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Mar 12 05:13:09 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=350765</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Haqqani’s counsel seeks to establish Ijaz’s credentials as a national enemy.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The protagonist of the Memogate scandal Mansoor Ijaz on Wednesday said that he was never against Pakistan’s acquisition of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes or defense of the country. The illegal sale of nuclear technology for the benefit of rogue elements of the state, however, was unacceptable to him.


Replying to questions of Zahid Bokhari, counsel for former ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani, Ijaz said he wrote an article on nuclear proliferation shortly after Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan admitted to selling nuclear technology and secrets to other countries. Asked if he had any evidence for the article, Ijaz replied that he relied entirely on Khan’s confession.

During cross-examination, Bokhari attempted to make a case that Ijaz was an enemy of Pakistan.

Referring to another article published in Gulf News by Nina Gopal, he asked Ijaz if he had arranged a meeting between Yasin Malik and C D Sahay, a former head of Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Ijaz admitted to arranging the meeting but clarified that Sahay was not heading the agency at the time. He denied it being a paid assignment by RAW and added that the meeting involved American interests.

Ijaz denied the allegations levelled by Bokhari that he was involved in destabilising different governments. Referring to another article, Bokhari asked Ijaz if he intended to dislodge the government of Sudan and had written a memo to Sandy Berger, a former deputy national security advisor to Bill Clinton, in this regard.

“This is ridiculous,” replied Ijaz. He admitted, however, that he had met with the Sudani Chief of Intelligence Lieutenant General Gutibi Al-Mehdi.

Ijaz also admitted to having relationships with more than two dozen intelligence agencies in the world but refused to answer if he worked for those agencies.

Ijaz said that he did not have any official status in the US and he has never been elected for any public office, adding that he is not even registered as a lobbyist in the country. He claimed to have played his role in his personal capacity as a private citizen of the US for the interest of his country.

Earlier at the outset of the proceedings, the commission found the transcript of the conversation of helicopter pilots and Pakistani air traffic controllers on May 2 unauthentic.  The commission also expressed dissatisfaction over Hussain Haqqani’s reply to the evidence provided by Ijaz.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>In contact with agencies of 24 countries, claims Mansoor Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350441/in-contact-with-agencies-of-24-countries-claims-mansoor-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350441/in-contact-with-agencies-of-24-countries-claims-mansoor-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Mar 12 14:40:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=350441</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Refuses to name those countries when questioned.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the key respondent in the Memogate scandal claimed that he is in contact with agencies of 24 different countries, Express News reported on Thursday . 

When asked to name the countries of whose agencies Ijaz had contacts with, he refused to answer, terming it an irrelevant question.

During cross-examination by Husain Haqqani’s counsel Zahid Bokhari, Ijaz said that even though he had written an article alleging Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan of stealing nuclear secrets, he was not inherently against Pakistan's nuclear program.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, head of the judicial commission investigating the matter, said that the telephone records submitted to the commission confirmed contacts between Ijaz and Haqqani.

Mansoor Ijaz's family receiving death threats

It was reported earlier that Ijaz had received messages from unknown numbers with death threats for his daughter.

US police took his cell phone in order to trace the numbers from which the threats were sent, and launched an investigation into the matter.

Haqqani's legal team in a press release though dismissed the threats as 'stories'.]]>
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			<title>Memogate: Haqqani's legal team advises Ijaz to spare 'stories' for grandchildren</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350252/memogate-haqqanis-legal-team-advises-ijaz-to-spare-stories-for-grandchildren</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350252/memogate-haqqanis-legal-team-advises-ijaz-to-spare-stories-for-grandchildren#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 14 Mar 12 21:27:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[press.release]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=350252</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA['Ijaz’s statements throw light on him, more as a star of the Stupidisco music video than a serious person']]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A spokesman for the legal team of Pakistan’s former Ambassador Husain Haqqani has reacted strongly to a statement by Mansoor Ijaz, the key respondent in the Memogate scandal. Advising him to spare 'stories' of threats for his grandchildren.

A counter-statement issued by the former ambassador's legal team read,“He is best advised to keep these stories for his grand children since soon no one in the world will be ready to listen to his fiction pandered as truth.”

"Mansoor Ijaz’s continuous press statements to influence the Memogate Commission are unfortunate and must be seen with disdain by the Pakistani nation,” the spokesperson added.

On early Wednesday morning, Ijaz had claimed that he had been receiving threatening messages from unknown numbers of kidnapping and killing his daughter.

The threats were sent as messages to the cell phone of Ijaz’s son.

Describing Ijaz as the real conspirator behind Memogate, the spokesperson said that Ijaz had failed in his objective of creating a rift between different institutions of Pakistan and was making a desperate attempt to influence the country, including the honorable judicial commission.

“Mansoor has presented to the Judicial Commission whatever he believes to be facts, but to us most of that consists of fabrication, imagination and Ijaz’s attention grabbing antics. A great example of that are his so called transcripts of Pakistan’s Air Traffic Control and the communication between two high offices of Pakistan on May 2 last year,” the spokesman said.

Haqqani’s legal team added that even a cursory glance of the so called evidence presented by Ijaz only proves that he has great story telling skills.

The spokesperson also took great exception to unsolicited advice by Ijaz to Haqqani on how to present his position in the Judicial Commission.

He further added that Ijaz’s problem was that he believed that his financial, moral and credit problems all rest on the conclusion of the ‘Memogate’ investigation, in his favour.

"He, unfortunately for himself, is mistaken, as his story’s gaping holes which will be exposed within the first ten minutes when our side starts cross questioning him," the statement quoted his spokesperson as saying.

The spokesman further commented,“Mansoor Ijaz’s statements only throw light on him more as a star of the Stupidisco music video than as a serious person.”

The spokesman again reminded that the honorable judicial commission had barred respondents from commenting on the proceedings of the commission and wondered whether Ijaz was enjoying this liberty to issue statements due to his belief that the Pakistani judicial authorities cannot stop him as he is beyond their jurisdiction.]]>
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			<title>Mansoor Ijaz's family receiving death threats</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349839/mansoor-ijazs-family-receiving-death-threats</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349839/mansoor-ijazs-family-receiving-death-threats#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 14 Mar 12 06:39:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=349839</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Messages sent to cell phone of Ijaz's son threaten to kidnap, murder his daughter.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the key respondent in the Memogate scandal, has been receiving threatening messages from unknown numbers of kidnapping and killing his daughter, sources told Express News.

The threats were sent as messages to the cell phone of Ijaz's son.

The US police took the cell phone in order to trace the numbers that were sending the threats, and launched an investigation into the matter.

Ijaz had earlier claimed to have received several death threats himself after he announced that he would travel to Pakistan to appear before the judicial commission inquiring into the Memogate scandal.

Fearing for his life, Ijaz refused to come to Pakistan and is currently being cross-questioned in London by a judicial panel of the commission.]]>
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			<title>Haqqani should tell the truth, urges Mansoor Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349217/haqqani-should-tell-the-truth-urges-mansoor-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349217/haqqani-should-tell-the-truth-urges-mansoor-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 12 20:13:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=349217</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Calls admission of having contact with Ijaz as Haqqani, legal team being boxed into a corner.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Following the reply filed by former Ambassador Husain Haqqani to the judicial commission investigating the memogate, Mansoor Ijaz has claimed that the diplomat who represented Pakistan in Washington from 2008 to October 2011 when he was forced to resign, did not fully grasp the gravity of the matter before him.

In an email sent to The Express Tribun, he said that former Ambassador Husain Haqqani's selective memory approach in his response filed with the Judicial Commission earlier this evening demonstrates an alarming failure on his part to grasp the gravity of the matter before him.  Each and every statement in his response is indefensible, he stated.

“His position that he never discussed the memo with me is a flat lie.  As is just about everything else he says in this matter.  His problem, and that of his attorneys, is that they are now boxed into a corner from which they cannot escape,” Ijaz wrote.

“Now he says he never denied having contact with me when just one short month ago in his initial appearance before the Judicial Commission, he denied everything about the entire case, including having contact with me during those three days in May 2011 when he dictated the content of the memorandum to me verbally, edited the written version after accepting Gen. James L. Jones' stipulation that the message had to be sent in writing, and then asked me to get it delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen for further action with, as he told me, his "boss's approval", Ijaz retorted.

Countering claims made by Haqqani in his reply regarding BlackBerry Messenger messages, the American businessman of Pakistani origin said “Now he says the BlackBerry messages are dismissible, but so far, Mr Haqqani has yet to provide a single iota of contradicting evidence.  Neither has he provided his BlackBerry PIN Codes, or his BlackBerry handsets, or a waiver of privacy so we can put the matter to rest.”

He argued that Haqqani seemed to be misdirecting the court from the truth. “Obfuscation and misdirection seem to be the central tenets of his legal strategy to avoid addressing the truth I have put on the record in transparent, verifiable terms,” he said.

Maintaining that his version of the story was the truth, Ijaz asserted “The point is that the truth is the truth is the truth.  No matter how many times I am asked to tell it, it will come out the same way because there is only one version of the truth.”

“Mr Haqqani's story seems to be shifting ever so slowly to the right -- but incrementalism is no substitute for just telling the truth straight out the first time around.  That is what he should have done to avoid creating the Memogate maelstrom in the first place and that is what he should do now,” Ijaz accused Haqqani of trying to sidestep.

“Tell the truth, Mr Haqqani. You might just be surprised at how forgiving the people of Pakistan will be of your sin if you admit it,” Ijaz wrote, urging the former Ambassador to come clean.]]>
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			<title>Never denied having contacts with Ijaz: Haqqani</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349018/never-denied-contacts-with-ijaz-haqqani</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349018/never-denied-contacts-with-ijaz-haqqani#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 12 15:58:09 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[azam.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Haqqani, legal team to contest, rebut each and every point raised by Mansoor Ijaz.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[All the allegations levelled against me by Mansoor Ijaz are baseless and there is not data to prove them, said former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani in a reply submitted to the Judicial Commission on Monday.

Haqqani, through his counsel Sajid Tanoli, submitted a written reply and copies of his telephone bills from May to November 2011 to the commission investigating the “memogate” scandal.

Making known their intention to contest, and rebut every point raised by Mansoor Ijaz, Haqqani's counsel claimed that the Blackberry messages were dismissible.

The former Ambassador added that he never denied having contacts with Ijaz,  but he never discussed any memo with him either.

One of Haqqani's counsel while talking to The Express Tribune said that the former Ambassador's legal team will be flying to London on Tuesday, quoted a statement from Ijaz's sworn testimony, that the latter had admitted to conveying the memo to General James Jones without any instructions from the former Ambassador.

Hence, Haqqani argued, there was nothing more left in the case, and further proceedings should be scuppered.

Commission wants Haqqani's reply, Pin codes, phone bills

The Judicial Commission probing the Memo issue on Friday directed Husain Haqqani to submit a response on the evidence provided against him and to provide the commission copies of bills of his cellular communication, along with his BlackBerry Pin codes, in writing which he had used between March and November, 2011, by March 15.
Government of Pakistan and Haqqani were also ordered to produce the copies of mobile phone bills which were used by Haqqani during the period between March 2011 and November. The Commission also directed the GoP as well as Haqqani to provide detailed information in writing of his numbers which he used in that period, ownership of handsets, names of the service provider and all cell phones.]]>
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			<title>Zardari, Kayani phone call: Mansoor Ijaz issues clarification</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/344962/zardari-kayani-phone-call-mansoor-ijaz-issues-clarification</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/344962/zardari-kayani-phone-call-mansoor-ijaz-issues-clarification#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 03 Mar 12 17:27:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=344962</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says he too suspected authenticity of transcript, had asked court to view it on its own merit.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[After denials being issued of a phone call allegedly between President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kayani between the night of May 1 and Many 2, Mansoor Ijaz, has offered a clarification.

Ijaz had on Friday claimed that he had submitted to the court, in a sealed envelope, a copy of a transcript of conversation between the Pakistan President and his army chief as US Navy SEALs raided a compound in Abbottabad, housing the then al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

In the email sent to The Express Tribune, Ijaz clarifies that he himself was not sure of the authenticity of this transcript, and had presented it to the court with a disclaimer to view it on its own merit. He added that he had refused to answer questions over this transcript during the cross-examination, and that remains his position.

The full text of the email received is below:
A short while ago, presidential spokesperson, Farhatullah Babar, and ISPR, the official spokesperson of the army chief, both issued denials in the matter of a transcript I entered into evidence during Thursday's Judicial Commission hearing.  Their denials are based on a set of assumptions that now require complete clarification.  Nowhere in the transcript is there any mention of a direct call between President Asif Ali Zardari and Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.  There is repeated mention of calls between the offices of the two men, but none that took place directly between them.

I asked that the transcript be sealed during Thursday's hearing for precisely this purpose -- that I myself was not certain of its authenticity or accuracy, but since it was one factor of many in my decision to ask Gen James Jones to forward the message to Adm Mike Mullen which had been dictated to me by Amb Haqqani on May 9, 2011, it was a relevant fact to the Commission's search for truth about the purpose of the Memorandum.  I asked Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to evaluate the document on its merit with both his esteemed colleagues before making a judgment about its value to the proceedings.  When asked during cross examination in Friday's hearings whether President Zardari had advance knowledge of the May 2, 2011 operation, I declined to answer until the authenticity and truth of the document is determined.  That remains my position.

ISPR and the Presidency picking up on one specific point based on media reports of what is contained in the transcript demonstrates continuing distortions in the search for truth about the alleged complicity of
President Zardari in the Memorandum affair and the events of May 2nd.  What about the other 40 or so entries in the logs of what happened on that night?  Why has ISPR and the Presidency not yet commented on the veracity -- or not -- of those points as well?  In the search for truth, ISPR and the President's spokesperson cannot be selective.  These organs of state have a responsibility to assist rather than obstruct by confirming or denying on a point-by-point basis what is contained in the transcript.]]>
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			<title>Memogate: Husain Haqqani given till March 15 to submit BlackBerry PINs, phone bills</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/344478/haqqani-changed-mobile-pin-code-twice-causing-data-loss-mansoor-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/344478/haqqani-changed-mobile-pin-code-twice-causing-data-loss-mansoor-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 12 13:59:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=344478</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ijaz claims Zardari had ordered F-16's to stand down, not act against US Navy SEALs raiding Abbottabad compound.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Judicial Commission probing the Memo issue on Friday directed Husain Haqqani to submit a response on the evidence provided against him and to provide the commission copies of bills of his cellular communication, along with his BlackBerry Pin codes,  in writing which he had used between March and November, 2011, by March 15.

Government of Pakistan and Haqqani were also ordered to produce the copies of mobile phone bills which were used by Haqqani during the period between March 2011 and November. The Commission also directed the GoP as well as Haqqani to provide detailed information in writing of his numbers which he used in that period, ownership of handsets, names of the service provider and all cell phones.

The commission headed by Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Iqbal Hameed ur Rehman and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Musheer Alam conducted hearing at Islamabad High Court.

The commission also put Haqqani on notice through his counsel that his testimony would be recorded in Islamabad after the conclusion of Mansoor Ijaz's examination.

Mustafa Ramday, the counsel for Mian Nawaz Sharif and Salahudin Mengal counsel for other PML N leaders completed their cross examination of Ijaz's testimony.

However, the Attorney General told the commission that he would start cross examination of Mansoor's testimony after Zahid Bokhari.

After the completion of testimony of all petitioners, except Zahid Bokhari, Justice Isa directed the Secretary Commission to contact the forensic expert companies based in United Kingdom, including LGC and System Technology consultants limited. The names of these companies had been suggested by Mustafa Ramady.

Justice Isa also asked the Attorney General for Pakistan, Molvi Anwarul Haq and other petitioners to suggest other forensic experts and to submit names before the commission within nine days.

It is pertinent to mention here that Zahid Hussain Bokhari, the counsel for Husain Haqqani will start cross examination of Mansoor's testimony in the next hearing.

The hearing of the commission was adjourned till March 15.

Ijaz claims his data has not been tampered with

Former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani had changed his Blackberry pin code twice, which resulted in the loss of some data record, Memogate protagonist Mansoor Ijaz said on Friday.

Express News reported that Pakistani-origin American businessman Ijaz was speaking via video link before the judicial commission that is probing the Memogate scandal.

On further questioning, however, Ijaz said he has no knowledge of how the record can be altered and only Blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion would know.

Answering questions of the Memogate commission, Ijaz said that the counsels would need to ask RIM how phone data could be tampered with. Though, in his reply, he hinted towards the possibility that pressure from security agencies of the US and some other countries may have forced RIM to tamper with the data.

Maintaining that his device remained free of tampering, he alleged that Husain Haqqani had changed his PIN code twice to deliberately lose stored conversations. However, he said that through the use of specialised software, this data could be recovered.

On hearing this, the head of the commission Justice Isa directed the Secretary of the Commission to alert the Forensic Commission to recover the specific BlackBerry handsets from which messages had been exchanged and verify whether these messages had not been tampered with.

Asked whether he received any money to create or deliver the alleged memo, Ijaz denied any such transaction.

He added that when he planned to come to Pakistan, he had telephonic and email-based conversations with DG ISI Lt. Gen Shuja Pasha.

Zardari ordered F-16s to stand down on May 2

Speaking to reporters before heading into the Pakistan High Commission in London to resume his testimony via video link, he claimed that as US helicopters crossed over into Pakistan without protocol, a telephone call was made from the Presidency to the country’s Army chief.

Ijaz said that the call was exchanged between President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. The President then ordered that PAF fighters, which had been scrambled, to not engage the Americans.

He added that there was a smear campaign underway in the media and that he would sue those behind him and that this lawsuit would be such that it would serve as a lesson.]]>
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			<title>Media running slander campaign against me: Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/343255/media-running-slander-campaign-against-me-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/343255/media-running-slander-campaign-against-me-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Feb 12 04:38:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=343255</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Pakistani-American businessman says he will redress every allegation against him and rebut the ‘falsehoods’.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Key witness in the Memogate scandal Mansoor Ijaz has said that journalists, media companies and bloggers in Pakistan have engaged in a ’slander campaign’ against him.


In an email to The Express Tribune, the Pakistani-American businessman said that he would redress every allegation against him and would rebut the ‘falsehoods’. Last week, Ijaz appeared at the Pakistan High Commission in London for three days to testify before a judicial commission investigating the origins, purpose and authenticity of a controversial memo.

Testifying via live video link before the commission in Islamabad, Ijaz said he delivered the secret memo seeking American help to avert a feared coup after former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani told him it was from the president.

Ijaz stated that Haqqani dictated the content, edited the written version and authorised the transmission of the Memo with the approval of his ‘boss’.

“I placed on the record, under objection from the opposing counsel at every possible turn, the data in my possession including handwritten notes, BlackBerry chat exchanges, e-mails and telephone call logs of my interactions with former ambassador Husain Haqqani and others who worked with me to transmit the message he had asked me to get to Adm Mike Mullen,” Ijaz wrote in the email. He further said that Haqqani failed to provide any evidence, such as his email account or BlackBerry devices, to refute Ijaz’s claims.

Ijaz further claimed that Haqqani is using “Pakistan’s media machinery to run a disinformation campaign” against him. He added that he would deal with the “false allegations, incorrect facts and slanderous comments” with news outlet and blogger legally and directly.

“For the moment, we remain focused on bringing the full truth and nothing but the truth on the record.  It is that truth which Mr Haqqani and his ‘boss’ fear and that is why they continue to slander and malign me in every way possible,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Fraud claims against Mansoor Ijaz surface: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/342864/fraud-claims-against-mansoor-ijaz-surface-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/342864/fraud-claims-against-mansoor-ijaz-surface-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 28 Feb 12 00:12:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=342864</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz had raised $1.5 million on the false pretext that he had backing from an influential Indian businessman.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz, the principal character in the Memogate case, has come under speculation for fraud, The Hindu reported on Monday.

According to the report, Ijaz had raised over $1.5 million from a San Marino bank on the pretext that he had the backing of a politically-influential Indian business family.

Letters filed by Ijaz before the New York Supreme Court, where he is seeking an extension to repaying his loans, show that he had told the court he had the backing of an investor, with close ties with Tata Motors in India to "invest close to $10 million in a company which would produce the world's most energy-efficient powertrains."

The contract for the deal had been signed in February 2008. He told the bank that he would provide details after a visit to India scheduled for late March, 2008. “Much hard work,” he wrote in a message to Banca Sammarinese di Investimento's directors citing temporary business reverses for his default, “has gone into correcting the situation, above all to protect my political reputation and future role in American politics.”

However, the paper reported that Tata Motors denied that it ever had any dealings whatsoever with Ijaz, or his powertrain company EcoDrive. No publically available information could confirm whether Ijaz, or his company ever started work on the powertrain.

The Hindu further reported that immigration authorities could not offer evidence of any trip undertaken by Ijaz to India during that time.

Even after Ijaz was sentenced in September, 2010 to payback BSI sums upto $1.74 million, he was yet to do so.]]>
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			<title>Pasha said military could not ignore memo: Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/341569/pasha-said-military-could-not-ignore-memo-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/341569/pasha-said-military-could-not-ignore-memo-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 12 04:26:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=341569</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Gen Pasha visited Ijaz with Gen Kayani’s consent.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Despite having a ‘deep desire’ to see the government complete its term, the army and intelligence chiefs could simply not ignore the rumours surrounding the memo, self-proclaimed whistle-blower Mansoor Ijaz said on Friday to a judicial commission probing the scandal.


The intelligence chief, General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, therefore visited him in London with the consent of Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Ijaz said, while apprising the commission on his meeting with Pasha in London.

He was concluding his testimony, via a video link from London, on the third day of hearing before a three-member commission headed by Chief Justice Balochistan High Court (BHC) Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

Turn of events

Former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani ‘abused’ the whistle-blowing article published in the Financial Times in October 2011, and attempted to persuade Ijaz through ‘common friends’ to keep the memo under wraps, the Pakistani-origin American businessman, Ijaz, told the commission.

Haqqani also changed his BlackBerry handsets twice, in an attempt to delete the exchanges between himself and Ijaz stored on the devices, Ijaz alleged. But Haqqani was not aware that I had already transferred the exchanges on my computer, he added.

All was not sour between the two at all times, though. After his first article appeared in Newsweek, Haqqani appreciated it, and stayed in touch with him till June 22, Ijaz said.

In fact, both were cordial until early September when Haqqani told Ijaz he was going back to Pakistan, and the latter asked him why, given that he had done ‘a good job.’

If you think I’ve done a good job, then inform your contacts in Washington that if they want their problems in Pakistan resolved, I am their man to get that done, Ijaz quoted Haqqani as saying.

Meeting Pasha

What was the rationale for disclosing the memorandum?

The wide condemnation that Admiral Mike Mullen received for his revelation that the ISI was supporting the Haqqani network, which was allegedly behind the attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan, Ijaz said.

Ijaz said he wrote the article in reaction to that, and mentioned the existence of the memorandum, sent by a senior Pakistani diplomat with the backing of Islamabad, in the fourth paragraph

Within 30 minutes of the article’s publication, Ijaz said, he received a call from Haqqani, asking him if he knew any other Pakistani diplomat so that the blame could be shifted.

“I replied that he knows who I knew, and he then abused my article, and hung up the phone,” Ijaz said.

He said he subsequently received a call from a senior staff officer of Gen Pasha on October 13 or 14, requesting for a meeting regarding the memo.

The day he was leaving for meeting Gen Pasha, Haqqani called him from an unknown number and expressed fear that the intelligence chief might meet the editor of Financial Times and obtain a copy of the memo.

Haqqani did not know that Pasha was coming to meet me, Ijaz added.

Earlier, Haqqani’s counsel had objected to the four-page telephone bill provided by Ijaz, saying it was not in his name, and not original.

Ijaz said he had provided 4 out of 39 pages of the bill and his name was printed on the first page.

He said he cannot provide the entire bill because it contains contacts of family, friends and business associates that he does not wish to make public. He agreed to provide the entire bill to the judges of the commission though, for their verification.

Tempers also flared at the hearing after an altercation between Ijaz and Haqqani’s counsel, Zahid Bukhari.

The commission adjourned the hearing till March 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Devil in the details: Ijaz says he penned, sent memo without showing it to Haqqani</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/341098/devil-in-the-details-ijaz-says-he-penned-sent-memo-without-showing-it-to-haqqani</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/341098/devil-in-the-details-ijaz-says-he-penned-sent-memo-without-showing-it-to-haqqani#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 12 01:30:09 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=341098</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says he subsequently sent it to Haqqani who returned it after deleting a point.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz may have provided the first chink in his own armour.


The self-proclaimed whistleblower in the Memogate scandal admitted that he authored the first draft of the memo himself and sent it to General James Jones, to pass on to then-chairman joint chiefs of staff admiral Mike Mullen, without former ambassador Husain Haqqani’s consent.

Ijaz said he subsequently sent the original draft to Haqqani on his Boston University’s email address, who returned it after deleting one of the seven points – the one granting US access to Osama bin Laden’s wives.

Ijaz, via a video link from the Pakistan High Commission in London, was concluding his testimony before a judicial commission investigating the scandal.

Ijaz loses temper

The otherwise articulate and confident Ijaz lost his temper when Haqqani’s counsel Zahid Bukhari contested his claim of requesting BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) to provide data.

“Did Haqqani produce his handsets? Did he waive his privacy rights in favour of the commission? We are helping the Supreme Court and the commission in searching the truth about the memorandum but we are being crucified,” a flared-up Ijaz asked the commission.

The commission head, Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, advised Ijaz to calm down.

The defense counsel was asking the commission to note the fact that Ijaz never wrote directly to RIM for the recovery of his BlackBerry exchanges; rather, his attorney had been interacting with the company, Justice Isa explained.

Expressing anger or frustration will destroy your case, the commission chief added.

Ijaz’s attorney, Advocate Akram Sheikh, also advised his client, sitting in London, to keep his cool.

Ijaz, now pacified, resumed: “My Lord, I am giving you 12 emails, exchanged between RIM and my attorney.”

“RIM does not maintain BB messages for more than three months, but they can be retrieved forensically. I have offered my handset as well as the PIN codes to the commission,” Ijaz added.

He also taunted Bukhari for not being familiar with the complex functions of BlackBerry devices.

Memo and its delivery

Haqqani asked Ijaz to verbally deliver the message to Adm Mullen through a ‘suitable’ channel, the latter informed the commission, explaining the sequence of his exchanges through BB messages, emails and phone calls with Haqqani and General Jones.

General Jones, who Ijaz subsequently contacted, agreed to deliver the message only if it was in writing, and had the approval of an authority higher than Haqqani.

Ijaz added that he used an email account created in the name of his son for sharing the memo with Haqqani.

After the memo was delivered to Adm Mullen, Ijaz told the commission, Haqqani informed him about the results of his meeting with the admiral, where he was given an assurance that as soon as the memo is placed before the ‘highest political office’ in Washington, a call will be made to Rawalpindi, or GHQ, asking Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and intelligence chief General Ahmad Shuja Pasha to step down.

Haqqani always suspected that General Jones was the interlocutor but learnt about it once the whistle-blowing article was published in the Financial Times in October 2011, Ijaz said.

Once the job was done, Haqqani returned to Pakistan on May 12, Ijaz added, concluding his testimony.

He requested the commission to allow him to bring to record the events of October and November, when he met the intelligence chief Gen Pasha.

The commission asked him to record his statement at a later stage, or during cross examination by the defense counsel.

Adjourning the hearing until 2 pm Friday (today), the commission asked Ijaz’s attorney to conclude his cross examination, and other petitioners to begin their cross examination.

Ijaz said he would appear at the high commission on Friday, but will be available after that next Thursday.

The defense counsel, Bukhari, said he would inform the commission by Friday if he will cross-examine Ijaz in Islamabad or London.

Bukhari’s petitions

Earlier in the day, the commission disposed of three petitions by Haqqani’s counsel.

Bukhari had asked for forensic testing of Ijaz’s communication devices, before recording the testimony.

The petition was disposed of by the commission, on grounds that the forensic testing will be ordered at an appropriate stage.

Bukhari had also petitioned for enough time to examine the evidence Ijaz produces before the commission. Accepting the plea, the commission ordered Ijaz’s counsel to provide the evidence in advance.

The third petition calling for facilitating the defense counsel’s UK visa was disposed of since he had received it by then.

(Read: Memogate matters)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Memogate matters</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/340790/memogate-matters</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/340790/memogate-matters#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Feb 12 20:43:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=340790</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The whole thing seems to be turning into something of a farce. The case seems to be getting nowhere at all.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the half-forgotten memogate case lingers on, the main player in the saga, Manoor Ijaz has begun giving his testimony — through a video link —before a judicial commission in London. This complexity in itself demonstrates the complications inherent in a case that, for now, seems to be heading nowhere at all.

The testimony was heard by the head of the commission, the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and two other high court judges. Ijaz told them during the unusually long-distance proceedings that he had been asked by Husain Haqqani to convey to the then head of the US military that attacks would be launched on key al Qaeda targets in Pakistan if the COAS and DG-ISI were asked to step aside. Ijaz further claims that the US wished to have such an offer made from a source higher than Haqqani himself while the latter chose to use Ijaz because his role could easily be denied. Other claims of a willingness on the part of the Pakistan government to nail the culprits named by India in the 2008 Mumbai attacks also came up.

Essentially, the whole thing was at best chaotic. Ijaz proceeded to read out all kinds of messages from his BlackBerry phone which he said gave credence to his testimony. The judicial commission was also told that the BlackBerry company had refused to retrieve data from the sets which may further offer a more authentic version of any conversation that took place between Ijaz and Haqqani.

The whole thing seems to be turning into something of a farce. The case seems to be getting nowhere at all. As analysts have pointed out, the military establishment and civilian government have turned to the US for ‘help’ many times since the memogate issue. We really have no way of knowing what happened this time around, especially if Mr Ijaz, the whistle-blower in this bizarre case should be believed at all, given that his statement was strongly contradicted by the ex-Pakistan envoy to Washington.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Memogate scandal: Judicial panel official in UK for Ijaz’s testimony</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/338988/memogate-scandal-judicial-panel-official-in-uk-for-ijaz%e2%80%99s-testimony</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/338988/memogate-scandal-judicial-panel-official-in-uk-for-ijaz%e2%80%99s-testimony#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 12 04:47:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=338988</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The statements will be recorded on Wednesday at the Pakistan High Commission.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The judicial commission probing the so-called ‘memogate’ scandal has sent its secretary to the UK to question Mansoor Ijaz.


Secretary for the memo commission, Raja Jawad Abbas, left on Sunday morning to accept evidence and record the statements of the Pakistani-American businessman.

Ijaz will record his statements on Wednesday, February 22 at the Pakistan High Commission in London. Although the businessman had submitted his witness statement to the commission, he will be quizzed via videoconferencing by the defendant, other petitioners as well as other members of the commission.

Earlier this week, he had submitted an 83-page statement to the judicial commission through his counsel in Pakistan, Advocate Akram Sheikh.

In his statement, he confirmed his meeting with ISI Director-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha in London in October last year.

Ijaz has also given details of his interaction with President Asif Ali Zardari in May 2009 at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington DC. The businessman said he had been invited by former ambassador Hussain Haqqani.

About his relationship with Haqqani, Ijaz wrote that they regularly maintained in contact over the past decade through e-mail, BlackBerry messenger and personal meetings.

Apart from his witness statement, Ijaz requested the commission for an in-camera briefing to record certain comments, which he claimed were not appropriate to be disclosed to others.

In December last year, while hearing a petition of former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, the Supreme Court had constituted a three-member judicial commission to probe the matter.

The court had appointed Balochistan High Court (BHC) Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa as chairman of the commission and Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Mushir Alam as its members.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Judicial commission to record Ijaz's statement on Feb 22: Shamsul Hasan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/335904/judicial-commission-to-record-ijazs-statement-on-feb-22-shamsul-hasan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/335904/judicial-commission-to-record-ijazs-statement-on-feb-22-shamsul-hasan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 13 Feb 12 18:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=335904</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK confirms that Judicial Commission to record Ijaz's statement is on schedule.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan, has said that all preparations for recording Mansoor Ijaz’s statements were complete, save the impending arrival of the secretary of a judicial commission to carry out the recording.

Speaking from London via telephone to the Express News on Monday, Hasan said that all preparations for recording Mansoor Ijaz’s testimony in the Memogate scandal case were complete.

He said that the secretary of the commission will be travelling to England on February 17, and will subsequently record Ijaz’s statement on the stipulated date and time.

A high-powered commission comprising three chief justices of Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad High Court, namely Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Musheer Alam and Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, directed the secretary of the commission Raja Jawad Abbas to travel to London and receive documents, evidence and gadgets from Mansoor Ijaz. Lawyers in Islamabad will cross-examine the video conference.

“The commission has decided to record the statement of Ijaz through a video link on February 22,” Ijaz’s counsel Akram Sheikh had earlier told AFP. “It is an important development in this case. The court has accepted my request. We want the people to know what the truth is,” Sheikh said.]]>
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			<title>From London: Memo panel to record Ijaz testimony via video link</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/334751/from-london-memo-panel-to-record-ijaz-testimony-via-video-link</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/334751/from-london-memo-panel-to-record-ijaz-testimony-via-video-link#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 11 Feb 12 04:27:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=334751</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Govt asks BlackBerry manufacturer RIM to reveal data.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Memogate commission, penning down a short order, decided on Friday to record the testimony of Mansoor Ijaz via video conference from Pakistan’s High Commission in London on February 22, at 2:00 pm.


A high-powered commission comprising three chief justices of Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad High Court, namely Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Musheer Alam and Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, directed the secretary of the commission Raja Jawad Abbas to travel to London and receive documents, evidence and gadgets from Mansoor Ijaz. Lawyers in Islamabad will cross-examine the video conference.

“The commission has decided to record the statement of Ijaz through a video link on February 22,” Ijaz’s counsel Akram Sheikh told AFP. “It is an important development in this case. The court has accepted my request. We want the people to know what the truth is,” Sheikh said.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) has decided not to record Mansoor Ijaz’s statement outside the parliament. “We cannot record Ijaz’s statement abroad because it’s contrary to parliamentary traditions and norms,” Senator Raza Rabbani said.

The committee has asked Mansoor Ijaz to appear before the lawmakers after submitting his reply on the issue on Feb 10. The secretaries of the committee, through foreign missions of Pakistan in Washington, London and Bonn, sent notices to Mansoor to clarify his stance on the issue.

The committee has also empowered its chairman to keep a vigil on the proceedings of the memo commission and summon the meeting of the committee if any meaningful situation arises.

The commission has directed Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to complete all the arrangements by February 20 simultaneously in London’s High Commission and the Islamabad High Court by ensuring clear reception of audio and video transmission at both ends.

While dismissing Ijaz’s invitation to the commission to come to London for his testimony, it has directed Akram Sheikh, Ijaz’s counsel, to submit three verified sets of all documents related to the memo to the commission by the next date of hearing. However, Justice Isa said that if any lawyer wants to go to London on his own expense, the court does not have any reservations.

At the outset of the hearing on Friday, the commission was informed that a letter has been sent to BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) for data from the handsets allegedly used by Mansoor Ijaz and former ambassador Husain Haqqani.

Barrister Zafarullah of the Wattan Party pressed the commission to record ISI chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha’s statement as secondary evidence because Mansur Ijaz refused to appear despite several assurances. He contended that the commission had given guarantees to Mansur Ijaz, but he refused, therefore his guarantee for appearing in London’s high commission should be rejected.

Former ambassador Husain Haqqani’s counsel Zahid Bukhari strongly opposed the commission’s decision saying it will be prejudiced if, in the future, his client is not allowed to have his statement recorded via video conferencing in America.

Speaking to reporters at the Lahore airport, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said “he (Mansoor Ijaz) is mocking the country and must not be given so much importance.”

Supporting what he called was Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s silence on the issue, Mukhtar said PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has realised that the Memogate is not based on facts. “At the start of the issue, he (Nawaz) moved the court, but once he learnt of the facts, he has preferred to remain silent. He has done well by going to London instead of appearing before the commission again.”

(With additional input from Zahid Gishkori)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Memogate: Ijaz to record statement via video link</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/334420/memogate-govt-writes-letter-requesting-blackberry-data-from-manufacturer</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/334420/memogate-govt-writes-letter-requesting-blackberry-data-from-manufacturer#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 12 04:42:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=334420</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ijaz’s statement to be recorded via video link at Pakistan High Commission in London.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Memogate commission, while getting a short order penned down on Friday, decided that Mansoor Ijaz’s statement will be recorded via video link from Pakistan High Commission in London.

The head of the commission, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of Balochistan High Court said Ijaz would go to the Pakistani High Commission to have his statement recorded.

“The commission has decided to record the statement of Ijaz through video link on February 22 at 2:00pm,” Ijaz's counsel Akram Sheikh told AFP.

“It is an important development in this case. The court has accepted my request. We want the people should know what the truth is,” Sheikh said.

The commission will carry out its proceedings in the Islamabad High Court while only the commission’s secretary will go to London in order to collect evidence, including BlackBerries, other devices and forensic material.

Lawyers in Islamabad will cross-examine the video conference.

Former ambassador Husain Haqqani’s counsel Zahid Bukhari strongly opposed the commission’s decision saying that it will create a prejudice if, in the future, his client is not allowed to have his statement recorded via video conferencing in America.

Justice Isa also said that if any lawyer wants to go to London on his own expense, then the court does not have any reservations on it.

Earlier today, the government of Pakistan wrote a letter to the BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) requesting for data from the handsets allegedly used by Mansoor Ijaz and former ambassador Husain Haqqani.

Bukhari told the commission that United States courts have registered four cases against Ijaz and said that he cannot enter the US which is why he keeps requesting the court to have his statement recorded in either London or Zurich.

Barrister Zafarullah said that Ijaz will “never appear before the commission,” adding that the commission should not go abroad in order to have his statement recorded.

He further said that the commission should concentrate on the secondary evidences – papers and documents submitted to the court – and base its verdict on it.

Currently, two applications have been presented before the commission. The first one by Ijaz’s counsel Akram Sheikh, requesting the commission to go abroad to record Ijaz’s statements, and the second one by Bukhari to abolish Ijaz’s right to record his statement as a witness in the case.

Bukhari said that this should be done because Ijaz has, time and again, refused to record his statement.

Justice Isa said that his statement could be recorded via video link as well.

Barrister Zafarullah and Sheikh were seen exchanging harsh words on the premises of IHC during the break, Express News reported.

Sheikh told Barrister Zafarullah that he “should talk like a barrister.” Reacting to Sheikh’s remark, Barrister Zafarullah said, “You [Sheikh] are not even a barrister and call yourself one. You lie about it.”

'Mansoor Ijaz is mocking the country'

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar has reacted sharply to allowing Ijaz to record a video statement.

“He is mocking the country and must not be given so much importance,” Mukhtar told reporters at the Lahore airport on Friday.

Supporting what he called was Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s silence on Memogate, he said that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had realised that Memogate is not based on facts and is simply a waste of time. “At the start of the issue, he [Nawaz] moved the court but once he learnt the facts of the case, he preferred to remain silent. He has done well by going to London instead of appearing before the [Memogate probe] commission again.”

Speaking on the contempt of court case against the prime minister, he said that if Gilani has announced that he will appear before the court, then he will definitely do so on February 13. “Jail is not something strange for the premier. He has served a five-year sentence already. If asked, he will again serve a sentence.”]]>
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			<title>Moving on</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328536/moving-on</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328536/moving-on#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 12 18:27:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saroop.ijaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=328536</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz was never worthy of a moment’s consideration &amp;amp; I will be thrilled if he does not come.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The interval in the memorandum episode provides us with an opportunity to at least catch our breath and if possible to do some minimum reflection. The original cause of the outrage at the alleged memorandum was singularly for the reason that the writing of it has undermined our national sovereignty, image and integrity etc. Now, we have collectively come to our knees, begging abjectly to that idiotic man to grace us with his presence, only to be brushed off by being told that we cannot be trusted because of our inherent barbarism. The tremendous condescension and contempt on display by Mansoor Ijaz is more viciously and less articulately reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling’s view that keeping the native people in line was a sacrifice and the native should constantly be reminded of this. At this time, it seems Mansoor Ijaz is not very keen to keep up his appointment and be amongst our unwashed, trigger-happy selves. The not-so-subtle irony in all of this is that the honour ostensibly lost by the inscribing of the memorandum is now being attempted to be regained by licking the boots of Mansoor Ijaz, especially by those who have repeatedly and consistently claimed sole ownership of our nation’s ‘ghairat’. It is getting seriously indecent now.

The clown was never worthy of a moment’s consideration and I will be thrilled if he does not come and we hear nothing of or from him ever again. He has already caused humiliation to a lot of people, most significantly to the Judicial Commission composed of three Chief Justices, especially convened to give an audience to him. To watch the three, very busy and Honourable Chief Justices being stood up by Mansoor Ijaz, admittedly makes the toes curl slightly with embarrassment at merely witnessing this. However, as is often the case in everyday life after a faux pas has occurred, the best strategy is a smile and a shrug of the shoulders and a move on. Attempts to redeem oneself or make a comeback can considerably protract the agony or the embarrassment. My Lords, do not give this man or the issue another opportunity, put it to rest.

Many in the media are visibly distressed at the possibility of Mansoor Ijaz not coming. The media in Pakistan has always had an openness to the fantastic, yet some of them outdo themselves this time around by bestowing the insight that if the President of this country can be provided security, why cannot the same security be provided to Mansoor Ijaz? The false equivalence is pathetically laughable and would put even the most racist imperialist to shame. Can they hear themselves talk, of course they can’t.

However, we have a clear winner in the absurd statements department, the worthy Chief Minister of Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, who has offered to personally guarantee the safety and security of Mansoor Ijaz. The statement is ridiculous by any standard, yet what makes it slightly sinister is the timing and the fact that Mian Shahbaz Sharif is at present also the health minister in Punjab. More than one hundred people have died due to a reaction to allegedly bogus medicines being disseminated in government hospitals in Lahore, Punjab. In a country not having an unhealthy obsession with honour, this would have been the primary issue in the government and media discourse. Mr Chief Minister, to substantiate your credentials as a bodyguard you may want to begin with the ensuring of safety of your tax-paying electorate from fatally toxic medicines.

For all I know, Mansoor Ijaz is driving to the airport to make me look silly right now, yet I will proceed on the wishful assumption that he is not coming. One may go so far and say that he should not be allowed to come, even if he wants to now. The timing is as right as it can be for the idea of forming judicial commissions on practically everything to be abandoned completely. The spectacle of memorandum commission is a punctuation mark on the failure of this notion. Recently, the Saleem Shahzad Commission report was so vague, ambivalent and afraid, that it is, or should be, a scandal. The report after an inordinately tiresome throat-clearing exercise said nothing; actually it is worse than nothing because it inadvertently opens the door for anyone to be murdered ‘mysteriously’. Reading it, one has to encounter the unbearable tedium of staring at the Aztec face of establishment propaganda. Would a parliamentary commission have done better, I don’t know. However, it would have been almost impossible to do worse, of course, unless they concluded that Saleem Shahzad has killed himself or is in fact still alive.

The Saleem Shahzad commission report is an example of officialdom which leaves the situation considerably worse off than had there been no action. The murderers now have at their disposal the neutered report and the glib argument that a ‘neutral’ commission has exonerated them. Had the same report been given by a commission consisting of politicians after the same initial rhetoric, if nothing else they would have been taken to task publicly for cowing down. Now, it has the cover of institutional deference. The Kharotabad and Abbottabad Commissions etc. are unlikely to be ground-shattering or to even cause a mild tremor. My Lords, when you volunteer to adjudicate and do it without fear or coercion, the onus is higher. You cannot decide to sit just one out, either you are brave in the face of terror or you are not. The obsession with judicial commissions should end now.

The anxiety of some of the media with the prospect of fizzling out of the memorandum hype is for reasons of sustenance; it would rob them of an exciting marketable story. Well, I think they worry unnecessarily. They can try and look into the story of the Shias being murdered in all parts of the country, they may even see the semblance of a pattern and hence the contours of a story, maybe even a big one.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>The value of second thoughts</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328538/the-value-of-second-thoughts</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328538/the-value-of-second-thoughts#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 12 17:27:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[nadir.hassan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=328538</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ijaz was seen as such a potent threat to the future of democracy that he had to be discredited, than be heard again.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[There are few reactions more human than to have a fixed impression of someone and then be blind to anything which would seem to poke holes in that initial judgment. When having to confront the complexities of human behaviour and motivations, we prefer to retreat to that which we are most comfortable with. This is particularly true in politics, where ideology can be an overriding factor that negates logic and good sense.

Take, for example, how Mansoor Ijaz’s column in The Financial Times was instantly dismissed as the delusional ramblings of a notorious self-promoter whose desire for self-aggrandisement topped any honesty he may have possessed. Knowing what he knew about the man and his tendency to place himself squarely at the centre of historic events, it seemed rational to discount what he had to say. We may not know yet exactly how true his claims were, but given that most had rubbished even his account of having talked to Husain Haqqani about a possible coup, it turned out that this was a man who deserved a second hearing.

And yet, so strong is the urge to cling to our first thoughts about a person, that even now his critics use every little bit of information about Ijaz that emerges to try and further discredit him. He appeared in a music video surrounded by half-naked women wrestlers? Well, that doesn’t mean he’s a liar; simply that his blood is as red as any other man’s.

Why is Ijaz hated with so much vitriol? The answer lies partly in the fact that he has hardly been the most sympathetic figure around but it has even more to do with ideology. Here was a man seen as such a potent threat to the future of democracy in the country that he had to be discredited, even though none of us actually know what transpired between him and Haqqani. Suddenly one saw the strange sight of journalists, whose very job is to uncover information that is not in the public domain, criticising Ijaz for opening his trap in the first place. Mocking him for his delusions of grandeur is similarly refusing to take subsequent facts into account as we now know that he had access to relatively high-level officials from both the Pakistan and US government.

On the flip side, Aitzaz Ahsan, thanks to his heroics during the lawyers’ movement, can do no wrong anymore. If he says the prime minister correctly refused to ask the Swiss authorities to reopen the case that had been closed thanks to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), well, then that must be the gospel truth. Aitzaz has a duty to use the best possible defence for his client, but that doesn’t mean we should accept its legitimacy uncritically. The fact is that the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the president’s immunity and reopening the Swiss case doesn’t necessarily mean stepping on the president’s constitutional protections. Now that the NRO has been declared illegal, the Supreme Court has every right to demand the case be reopened and defendants without immunity face the music.

None of this is to suggest that Ijaz is truthful in everything he says or that Aitzaz is purposely employing a dishonest defence. Rather we should try not to be so strident in our views or so fixed in our impression of people that it blinds us to alternative possibilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>Memogate: 'Mansoor Ijaz's statement be recorded in another country'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328458/memogate-mansoor-ijazs-statement-be-recorded-in-another-country</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328458/memogate-mansoor-ijazs-statement-be-recorded-in-another-country#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 12 10:25:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=328458</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Akram Sheikh submits request to Supreme Court of Pakistan, asks that Ijaz's statement be recorded in another country.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz’s lawyer, Akram Sheikh has filed a request to the Supreme Court of Pakistan asking that his client’s statement be recorded in another country, Express News reported on Saturday.

Ijaz, one of the central characters in the Memogate scandal, has been summoned by the parliamentary and judicial commissions investigating the case, and has twice refused to come to Pakistan despite assurances of proper security.

In the request, Sheikh says that Ijaz has a security threat if he comes to Pakistan and there is also the danger that he might be arrested on false charges or evidence might be taken away from him.

The judicial commission probing the scandal has also submitted a request to the court and has asked that it be given an extension to finish the investigation.

The commission has given Ijaz one last chance to present his version of events in person and in Pakistan, inviting him to appear on February 9. It categorically refused Ijaz’s application that he record his testimony at a location of his choice.]]>
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			<title>Malik slams Shahbaz’s security offer to Mansoor Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328342/malik-slams-shahbaz%e2%80%99s-security-offer-to-mansoor-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/328342/malik-slams-shahbaz%e2%80%99s-security-offer-to-mansoor-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 12 05:26:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=328342</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Malik says Punjab chief minister’s statement amounts to contempt of court.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Interior Minister Rehman Malik has termed Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s statements on providing security to Mansoor Ijaz as ‘contempt of court’.


Malik said that he will file a request for a ‘contempt of court’ notice against the chief minister.

Shahbaz Sharif, on Thursday, said that he will take personal responsibility for providing complete security to Ijaz during his visit to Pakistan.

He said that he will welcome Ijaz and will provide him security till the last moment he is in Pakistan, and also offered the judicial commission probing the controversial memo to come to the province to record Ijaz’s statements.

In response to Shahbaz’s statements, Rehman Malik said that the ‘cat is out of the bag’ now and that it was clear why Nawaz Sharif went to court for the Mansoor Ijaz case.

Malik added that he was considering filing a contempt application against Shahbaz Sharif regarding provision of security to Ijaz in Punjab. Replying to a question, Malik said that the chief minister was attempting to divert the public’s attention from the spurious drugs case by issuing such statements.

He again reiterated that the government will welcome Ijaz by providing him “tight” security till the last moment during his visit to Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Security for Mansoor Ijaz: 'Shahbaz's statement contempt of court'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327959/security-for-mansoor-ijaz-shahbazs-statement-contempt-of-court</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327959/security-for-mansoor-ijaz-shahbazs-statement-contempt-of-court#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 12 07:57:05 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=327959</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Interior Minister Rehman Malik says he will file request of 'contempt of court' notice against Shahbaz Sharif.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Interior Minister Rehman Malik has termed Shahbaz Sharif's statements  on providing security to Mansoor Ijaz as 'contempt of court', Express News reported on Friday.

Malik said that he will file a request for a 'contempt of court' notice against the chief minister.

Shahbaz Sharif, on Thursday, said that he will take personal responsibility of providing complete security to Ijaz during his visit to Pakistan.

He said that he will welcome Ijaz and will provide him security till the last moment he is in Pakistan, and also offered the judicial commission probing the controversial memo to come to the province to record Ijaz’s statements.

In response to Shahbaz's statements, Rehman Malik also said that the 'cat is out of the bag' now and that it was clear why Nawaz Sharif went to court for the Mansoor Ijaz case.]]>
			</content:encoded>
			<image>
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			<title>Punjab government promises Mansoor Ijaz a safe visit</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327525/punjab-government-promises-ijaz-a-safe-visit</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327525/punjab-government-promises-ijaz-a-safe-visit#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 12 11:32:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=327525</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[If federal government is not providing security, then Punjab government will arrange for it, says Shahbaz Sharif.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday offered 'adequate security' to Mansoor Ijaz if he comes to Punjab to record his statement in the Memogate scandal. 

Talking to Express News, Sharif said that he will take personal responsibility of providing complete security to Ijaz during his visit to Pakistan.

He said that he will welcome Ijaz and will provide him security till the last moment he is in Pakistan, and also offered the judicial commission probing the controversial memo to come to the province to record Ijaz's statements.

Ijaz has repeatedly refused to visit Pakistan citing security reasons despite several assurances as the judicial commission summoned him over and over again. The parliamentary committee probing the issue gave him a final deadline of February 10 to appear before the committee.]]>
			</content:encoded>
			<image>
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			<title>Security plan designed to harass, not protect Ijaz: Zulfiqar Khosa</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327103/security-plan-designed-to-harass-not-protect-ijaz-zulfiqar-khosa</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327103/security-plan-designed-to-harass-not-protect-ijaz-zulfiqar-khosa#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 12 18:22:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[tariq.ismaeel]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=327103</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Khosa crticises PTI, says tsunami brings destruction, devastation and can never be used for the welfare of the people.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader  and Senior Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab Zulfiqar Khosa says that the security being offered to Mansoor Ijaz by the government is designed to harass him rather than offer protection.

Talking to the media after the inauguration of a developmental project in Dera Ghazi Khan, Khosa said, “It’s the judiciary’s obligation now to provide him the required security to let him present his evidence before the court before and safely return to his homeland.”

Regarding the upcoming national elections, the senior PML-N leader remarked that the Chairman of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not have a clean record and did not deserve to be the head of the ECP. Khosa added that the demand of an independent election commission was first raised by PML-N and that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was just following them by demanding the same.

Talking about the 'tsunami', a word that has become associated with the PTI recently, Khosa said that, “I can only pray that Allah saves our country from a tsunami. Tsunami has been always used for destruction and devastation and it can never be used for the welfare of the people. This tsunami today, coined in our country, will be the destruction of our country and we will resist and save our country from it.”

He further added that, “revolution is simply to bring change in the country and it will only be brought by the PML –N because we want to serve the people of Pakistan and that change is actually to encourage the culture of serving the people of Pakistan, not the vested interests of the politicians and political parties.”

Speaking about he elections and the change of government, he said, “The next government, whether a coalition government, has a bleak future only due to corruption and mismanagement of the current government. The government is breathing its last in terms of financial management due to loans, it can go bankrupt any time.”

He further said that it was the duty of the federal government to keep a check on the activities of banned militant and religious organisations and to monitor their activities.

“It is the duty of the federal government to restrict them. The reason being that they are banned by the federation and it is their duty to ban the growth of these organisations in the country, but the federal government has been sleeping. Provinces are not independent and federation gives them instruction to control the growth and expansion of banned militant and religious organisations in the provinces."]]>
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			<title>Memogate commission: Ijaz offered last chance as Malik assures safety</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326812/memogate-commission-ijaz-offered-last-chance-as-malik-assures-safety</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326812/memogate-commission-ijaz-offered-last-chance-as-malik-assures-safety#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 12 23:08:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=326812</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Panel rejects application to record testimony abroad.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz, the mover and shaker at the heart of Memogate, has been told in firm terms by the judicial commission probing the issue: we will not budge.

After a marathon hearing on Tuesday, the commission gave Ijaz one last chance to present his version of events in person and in Pakistan, inviting him to appear on February 9.

The commission categorically refused Ijaz’s application that he record his testimony at a location of his choice. The uncompromising stance came after Interior Minister Rehman Malik gave assurances that Ijaz’s name would not be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL), unless directed by the parliamentary panel on national security.

Fearing a media escalation of the already-hyped issue, the three-judge judicial commission, comprising the chief justices of Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad, also barred all petitioners in the case from giving interviews and appearing on television talk shows to discuss the issue.

Preparing for all events, the commission also ordered the Federal Investigation Agency and Civil Aviation Authority to allow the secretary of the commission, Raja Jawad Abbas, to receive Ijaz if he lands on Pakistani soil. Abbas would then take all Ijaz’s data related to the memo, including his BlackBerry phones, into custody.

During the hearing, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the commission’s head, questioned Akram Sheikh, Ijaz’s lawyer, about the absence of his client from the hearing. Justice Isa said the commission needed to cross-examine Ijaz and also examine all his electronic devices.

In response, Sheikh accused the interior minister of issuing threats to his client if he came to Pakistan to record his statement. Hence, Sheikh argued, Ijaz had wanted to do his business in London or Zurich.

“He thinks Rehman Malik will kill him,” said Sheikh, who then accused Malik of being the head of Benazir Bhutto’s security team when she was killed in 2007, a charge Malik denied.

“This is wrong,” Malik said. “The then government was responsible for her security and I was not in the government at that time.”

Malik, confidently attired in a black suit and pink tie, maintained that, despite pressure from the press, he had never been provoked into threatening Ijaz through the media or any other means.

In a tacit admission that he may have been misquoted, he did say he was a busy man and did not have time to read the newspapers. However, he presented a news clipping published in The Express Tribune and a video to corroborate his statement that he meant Ijaz no harm.

Malik also presented a letter, stating that Ijaz would be provided with the security cover of the Islamabad police, the federal constabulary, Rangers and the army. Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq proposed holding proceedings in an aiport lounge when Ijaz arrived.

Justice Isa then asked Sheikh to ask his client for his thoughts. Ijaz, via email, again expressed apprehensions over Malik’s assurances.

Ultimately, the commission was adjourned till February 9, as it now asks Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for an extension. It appears it will be some time yet till Memogate closes shut.

(With additional input from AFP)

(Read: Not coming after all)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Media session: ‘Only a fool would come to Pakistan after such statements’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326565/media-session-%e2%80%98only-a-fool-would-come-to-pakistan-after-such-statements%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326565/media-session-%e2%80%98only-a-fool-would-come-to-pakistan-after-such-statements%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 12 21:57:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=326565</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Punjab Law Minist­er Rana Sanaul­lah demand­s CEC to step down for ‘not honour­ing’ his word to the SC.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, speaking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday, criticised the government for ‘scaring’ Memogate protagonist Mansoor Ijaz into not coming to Pakistan in order to thwart the case.


“After the sort of threatening statement the government made, only a fool will come to Pakistan to record evidence,” Sanaullah said. “The government has been making such comments because it knows that it will be implicated in the case if Ijaz comes to Pakistan with proof.”

He also demanded the resignation of Justice (retired) Hamid Ali Mirza, the chief election commissioner, who called the Supreme Court’s by-poll freeze ‘against the Constitution’.

Sanaullah said that Mirza should resign because of his age and his failure to compile voters’ lists by December 2011. “It is my humble suggestion to Mirza that he resign,” Sanaullah said.

The law minister said that being the head of a federal government department, he (Mirza) should not have made such statements. Mirza should have told the nation why the voters’ lists have not yet been prepared, Sanaullah said.

When asked about Asghar Khan’s petition before the Supreme Court seeking punishment for political groups that have been funded by the Inter-Services Intelligence, Sanaullah said that the PML-N had nothing to worry about since it had a clear record.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2012.]]>
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			</item><item>
			<title>Memogate: Mansoor Ijaz given final chance, summoned on February 9</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326333/as-sc-deadline-looms-closer-memo-commission-continues-hearing</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326333/as-sc-deadline-looms-closer-memo-commission-continues-hearing#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 12 13:20:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=326333</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The commission's secretary will meet with Ijaz on his flight to Pakistan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal has given Mansoor Ijaz one final chance and has summoned the Pakistan-American businessman on February 9, Express News reported on Tuesday.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who is heading the commission, said that the commission will not travel abroad to record Ijaz's statement. However, it has decided to send the secretary of the commission to meet with the Pakistani-American aboard his flight to Pakistan.

It further issued directives to ensure fool proof security for Ijaz's arrival, stay and departure.

The commission has said that a letter will be written to the Supreme Court to request that the four week deadline to finish the probe be extended.

The Pakistan-American businessman, who is one of the central characters of the Memogate scandal, has twice denied coming to Pakistan to record his statement before the commission, citing security issues.

Earlier today, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had stated that Ijaz's name had not been placed on the Exit Control List and that the interior ministry had issued a clarification on the matter. Malik was ordered to appear before the commission to respond to the 'threatening' statements he gave regarding Mansoor Ijaz's visit to Pakistan.

Following the order, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq had talked to Malik who said that he will appear before the commission today.

“The commission has ordered the interior minister to appear before the commission today and explain his statements about Mansoor Ijaz's security,” attorney general Maulvi Anwarul Haq earlier told reporters.

The minister had warned that the govern­ment will place Ijaz’s name on the Exit Contro­l List, if reques­ted by the parliamentary committee formed to probe the scandal.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, heading the bench, had inquired why Ijaz was not coming to Pakistan. Ijaz's lawyer Akram Sheikh had said that his client wanted to bring all proofs to the commission, but the interior ministry had threatened to place his name on the Exit Control List (ECL).

Sheikh added that the army should be the focal point of Ijaz's security in the country.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had earlier ruled out army security for Ijaz, saying that the government will not spend billions of rupees on a "dishonest" person.

The Supreme Court had formed the judicial commission on December 30 last year and had given a four-week deadline to complete the investigations.

Parliamentary panel rejects Raja Riaz plea

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, tasked with probing the Memogate scandal, has rejected Pakistan Peoples Party leader Raja Riaz’s plea to become a party in the case, terming it “an irrelevant plea”.

Raja Riaz, who is the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, requested the panel to move against Ijaz for not only Memogate but also for playing a key role in toppling former premier Benazir Bhutto’s government.

Haqqani's counsel wants Ijaz to be held in contempt of commission

Husain Haqqani's counsel Zahid Bukhari, while speaking to the media before the hearing, said that Ijaz should be held in contempt of the commission for not appearing as ordered several times.

He added that the security had been arranged as per Ijaz's demands and if he had any issues with the arrangements, he could have asked for the required changes.

Bukhari further said that there was no law which supported the commission going out of the country to record Ijaz's statements.

Government not creating hurdles in Ijaz’s way: Chandio

Federal Law Minister Maula Bux Chandio has said that the government is not stopping Ijaz from coming to Pakistan and presenting his stance in front of the commission.

Speaking to the media in Hyderabad, Chandio said that the government was not creating hurdles in Ijaz’s way.

“I question what threats his visit to Pakistan pose to his life,” Chandio said. “He [Ijaz] might be a VIP, in fact, a VVIP. We could have provided him security. We don’t have anything against his visit to Pakistan.”]]>
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			</item><item>
			<title>Memogate: Despite assurances, Mansoor Ijaz refuses to come to Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326428/memogate-despite-assurances-mansoor-ijaz-refuses-to-come-to-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326428/memogate-despite-assurances-mansoor-ijaz-refuses-to-come-to-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 12 11:58:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=326428</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ijaz's counsel had written him an email informing him of the commission's assurances of full security.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Despite assurances of full security from the judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal, Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz has once again refused to come to Pakistan to record his statement, Express News reported on Tuesday.

Ijaz’s counsel, Akram Sheikh had earlier today – on the directives of the commission – written an email to his client to inform him that the commission had given assurances that he would be given full security on arrival.

Sheikh later distributed copies of Ijaz's email response to the three judges.

Appearing before the commission today, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had also said that Ijaz’s name has not been placed on the Exit Control (ECL), and added that his ministry had issued a clarification in this matter. Malik had earlier warned that the govern­ment will put Ijaz’s name on the Exit Contro­l List, if reques­ted by the parliamentary committee formed to probe the scandal.]]>
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			</item><item>
			<title>‘Only a fool would come to Pakistan after government's threatening statements’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326379/%e2%80%98only-a-fool-would-come-to-pakistan-after-governments-threatening-statements%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326379/%e2%80%98only-a-fool-would-come-to-pakistan-after-governments-threatening-statements%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 12 09:36:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=326379</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah demands CEC to step down for ‘not honouring’ his word to the SC.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[From defending its National Reconciliation Ordinance order to responding to criticism of its verdict on a by-elections freeze, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz appears to have become the Supreme Court’s most staunch supporter.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, speaking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday, criticised the government for ‘scaring’ Memogate protagonist Mansoor Ijaz into not coming to Pakistan in order to thwart the case.

“After the sort of threatening statement the government made, only a fool will come to Pakistan to record his statements,” Sanaullah said. “The government has been making such comments because it knows that it will be implicated in the case if Ijaz comes to Pakistan with proof.”

Sanaullah also demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza, who has called the SC’s by-poll freeze ‘against the Constitution’.

The law minister said that Mirza should step down as he was ‘over-age’ for the post and because he had failed to fulfil his responsibility and commitment before the SC that voters lists will be complete by December 2011.

“It is my humble suggestion to Mirza that he should resign as his age is taking the better of him,” Sanaullah said.

He said that the Election Commission of Pakistan is a department of the federal government and Mirza, as the departmental head, should not have made such an assertion against the SC. “The entire nation wants to know the cause of the delay in completion of voters lists. Mirza, instead of issuing that statement, should have held a press conference informing the people.”

Commenting on Asghar Khan’s petition before the SC, seeking punishment for political groups that have been funded by the Inter-Services Intelligence, Sanaullah said that the PML-N has a clear record and is not afraid of any verdict the court passes in the case.

“If he brings one hundred such applications in court, only one might eliminate the PML-N,” he said.

The PML-N, he said, only wants to know who was responsible for Memogate and about the talks that were held between the intelligence and army chiefs, the prime minister and the president when they demanded the resignation of former Pakistan envoy to the US Husain Haqqani’s.]]>
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			<image>
				    <img src="https://i.tribune.com.pk/media/images/326379-RanaSanaullahINP-1327397395/326379-RanaSanaullahINP-1327397395.jpg" class="featured_image"/>
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			</item><item>
			<title>Memogate: Ijaz must be allowed to testify, says PTI chief</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326266/memogate-ijaz-must-be-allowed-to-testify-says-pti-chief</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326266/memogate-ijaz-must-be-allowed-to-testify-says-pti-chief#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 12 04:43:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=326266</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says preventing Ijaz from testimony is evidence that his allegations are true.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[With Memogate protagonist Mansoor Ijaz’s testimony before the Supreme Court becoming uncertain, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said that if Ijaz is disallowed from testifying, it will be evidence enough that his allegations are true.


Imran, who was speaking on Monday at his residence in the upscale Zaman Park residential area of Lahore, also responded emphatically to a question on why he is welcoming almost everyone who wishes to join his party.

“This is a political party, not a club or non-governmental organisation where you can close doors and be exclusive,” Imran said. “You can’t ask people to present certificates of eligibility. Ask us this question when we start handing out party tickets for the general elections.”

Commending the Supreme Court’s decision to take up Asghar Khan’s pending petition against the involvement of security agencies in political affairs, Khan said  the Inter-Services Intelligence Director General (DG ISI) would reveal to the court on oath which political parties received funds from them.

He added that the Supreme Court was the’ last hurdle’ in the way of the PPP-led government, otherwise the rulers would have ‘sold the country by now’.

Former MNAs Ahmed Raza Maneka, Sardar Tufail, Jamil Bukhari, Aftab Khichi, Aurangzeb Khichi, Qurban Ali Chohan and dozens of nazims and ticket-holders from various parties joined PTI yesterday after meeting the party chief.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM NEWSDESK)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2012.]]>
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			</item><item>
			<title>Memogate probe: Mansoor Ijaz not coming to Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326273/memogate-probe-mansoor-ijaz-not-coming-to-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/326273/memogate-probe-mansoor-ijaz-not-coming-to-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 12 00:23:20 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=326273</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Haqqani requests commission to proceed without Ijaz’s statement.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz has, after all, decided against visiting Pakistan to record his testimony before the judicial commission probing the Memogate controversy.


A day before the third sitting of the judicial commission probing the controversial memo, the key witness invited the commission to record his testimony at a place of his choice, outside Pakistan.

His lawyer, Akram Sheikh, said that Ijaz has decided to record his testimony in Zurich or London, following the “deviation” of the federal government and armed forces from their respective proclamation to provide him security.

According to an application submitted by Ijaz, through his counsel, to the commission on Monday, by virtue of Para 9 (e) of the order of the Supreme Court, the commission was mandated to collect evidence within and outside Pakistan.

It further said that in order to “unravel the truth” and expose Haqqani’s ‘fraudulent’ version, the applicant had decided to undertake the risk of travelling to Pakistan and continues to be willing to do so, in letter and spirit.

However, following ‘threats’ by Interior Minister Rehman Malik received on ‘a daily basis’, the applicant ‘reluctantly relented’ and decided not to visit Pakistan under any circumstances.

Ijaz further said that “the very institution charged with his protection (the Interior Ministry) is acting under the orders of the individuals against whom he is deposing as a witness and is headed by an individual (Rehman Malik) who almost daily makes threats and charges against the applicant.”

The application further pointed out that security arrangements for Ijaz were assigned to the interior ministry instead of the army as requested by the applicant and ordered by the commission on January 9 and January 16.

‘Trap’ in security arrangements

Ijaz’s counsel Sheikh echoed the concerns with security arrangements at a press conference on the premises of the Supreme Court, saying that his client would not fall prey to the government ‘trap’.

“It seems like a well orchestrated trap to hold Ijaz indefinitely in Pakistan after his deposition before the commission,” he said.

The lawyer said that the IGP visited him to discuss security arrangements and said if the need arose, they would request the army to provide additional security to Ijaz.

However, he added, that the IGP failed to comment on whether or not Ijaz’s name would be placed on the ECL and, if his return from Pakistan would remain unobstructed.

Ijaz deliberately raising objections: AGP

Reacting sharply to the press conference, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq said, “What trap; what is he talking about? Does he know under whose order he is travelling to Pakistan?”

The attorney general added that an army officer had been named to make security arrangements for Ijaz, even though the commission had, in its order, used the word ‘may’ for provision of additional security for him.

While talking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, he said he felt as if Ijaz was deliberately raising objections to avoid giving a testimony before the commission.

Documentary evidence

Through his application before the commission, Ijaz volunteered to hand over documentary evidence of former ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani’s involvement in the scandal.

He claimed of holding valuable equipment/evidence, which will settle the controversy; however if it ends up in the wrong hands there is a possibility of tampering and destruction.

Ijaz further suggested that the entire commission or any of its members meet him outside Pakistan to take into possession his original, unhampered Blackberry handsets, recorded messages, emails, call logs and hand notes and, also, record his oral testimony.

Ijaz wasting commission’s time: Haqqani

On the other hand, Haqqani has alleged that Ijaz is not attending the proceedings of the commission without a lawful reason or excuse.

In an application submitted before the commission on Monday, Haqqani stated that the commission has accepted all of Ijaz’s demands and even the dates are being fixed on his desire. Even the attorney general and the government, he added, arranged foolproof security, yet Ijaz’s attitude and conduct clearly shows he is ‘playing with the sentiments of the nation’ and also ‘wasting the precious time of the commission’.

He requested the commission to close the right of recording Ijaz’s statement, so that further proceedings could be conducted accordingly in order to finalise the proceedings within time frame given by the Supreme Court.

Riaz seeks to be part of probe 

Meanwhile, Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz Ahmad submitted another application to the judicial commission seeking permission to become a party in the Memogate probe.

While talking to the media, he demanded that a case of high treason be registered against Ijaz.

(Read: Not coming after all)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2012.]]>
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			</item><item>
			<title>Not coming after all</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325929/not-coming-after-all</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325929/not-coming-after-all#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 12 18:54:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325929</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz won’t be appearing before the judicial commission investigating the memogate case.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Like any publicity hound with a healthy sense of self-regard, Mansoor Ijaz could have kept his will-he-or-won’t-he charade going indefinitely. For the rest of us it is time to admit that he will not be coming to Pakistan to testify in the very case that he ignited with one newspaper column and kept fanning with daily media appearances. Finally, after weeks of bluffs and counter-offers, Mr Ijaz’s lawyer said that he and his client aren’t satisfied that security arrangements for Ijaz are sufficient as a result of which, he won’t be appearing before the judicial commission investigating the memogate case. As a US citizen, Mr Ijaz has every right to absent himself from Pakistani legal proceedings. But to continue making statements that will never face judicial scrutiny but place the government at risk is highly irresponsible at best.

Part of Mr Ijaz’s reasoning for declining to come to Pakistan is that the government has been harassing him for his decision to testify before the judicial commission. But the PPP has a solid line of argument against him. If he is appearing before the judicial commission, goes the PPP reasoning, then why can he not appear in front of a parliamentary panel investigating the same matter? For him to cherry-pick which commission he would like to speak to and which he would rather avoid, raises questions about his credibility. Now that he won’t be appearing in Pakistan at all, perhaps it is time to discount his many media statements since they will no longer be receiving the official scrutiny that they deserve. It is also worth noting that Mr Ijaz’s concerns about his personal security are overblown. The government assured him of foolproof security and with the military in his corner, the chances of any harm coming to him are miniscule. The prime minister simply said that Mr Ijaz would not be given the same level of security as that given to a visiting head of state which is a fair argument. Quite clearly, those who thought that Mr Ijaz was an attention-seeker who would not visit Pakistan will have their perceptions strengthened by his decision because their argument will be that the issue of security is a mere pretext. While the commission will now decide whether Mr Ijaz’s testimony will be recorded overseas, the fact that he has refused to come to Pakistan itself casts doubt on the integrity of any such communication from him.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Tribune Take: Did the government scare Mansoor Ijaz away?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325975/tribune-take-did-the-government-scare-mansoor-ijaz-away</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325975/tribune-take-did-the-government-scare-mansoor-ijaz-away#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 12 18:01:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[gibran.ashraf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325975</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The judicial commission can still obtain Mansoor Ijaz's testimony, says The Express Tribune reporter, Faisal Shakeel.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In today’s episode of the Tribune Take we take a look at the latest curve ball offered up in the saga that is now Mansoor Ijaz's trip to Pakistan.

Faisal Shakeel, Reporter for The Express Tribune based in Islamabad, says that Ijaz, following the advice from his counsel, has decided not to travel to Pakistan. However, this does not mean that Ijaz cannot still testify in the Memogate case.

Shakeel says a few options remain, as Ijaz can testify over video conference, or a delegate from the judicial commission can travel to either London or Zurich where they can record his testimony.

Shakeel says this may not have been necessary had the interior ministry included representatives of the army in the security planning for Mansoor Ijaz’s stay in Pakistan from the beginning.

Read Faisal Shakeel’s articles here.

The Tribune Take daily news web show will appear on the tribune.com.pk home page.

The Take will feature in-depth interviews and analysis with editors and reporters who are covering the major stories, exploring front page events and major ledes. The news analysis covers the way The Express Tribune examines a story, how we cover it and why.]]>
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			<title>Govt is not trapping Mansoor Ijaz: Malik</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325931/govt-is-not-trapping-mansoor-ijaz-malik</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325931/govt-is-not-trapping-mansoor-ijaz-malik#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 12 14:21:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ferya..ilyas]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325931</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The nation demands explanation for all the claims made by Ijaz, says the interior minister.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Monday refused to accept the claims made by Mansoor Ijaz’s lawyer Akram Sheikh that his client was being trapped by the government.

Speaking to media in Islamabad, Malik said that Ijaz himself made statements against the army, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) and about toppling Benazir Bhutto’s government. “We, as a stakeholder, have the right to form a commission and investigate these issues,” Malik said.

“The nation demands explanation for all these claims,” Malik added.

Malik also said that Ijaz had refused to come to Pakistan because he was scared.

"If Ijaz was an honest and brave man, he would have come to testify," he said.

Responding to Ijaz’s statements that he was at war with him, Malik said that he had been fighting against terrorists and other enemies of Pakistan for the last four years and if he wants to join those ranks, “he is most welcome.”

“But I will not allow anyone to insult my country and my people,” Malik asserted.

Calling Ijaz’s revelations a publicity stunt, the interior minister said that Pakistani media had helped him become popular.]]>
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			<title>Mansoor Ijaz will not come to Pakistan: Akram Sheikh</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325862/mansoor-ijaz%e2%80%99s-lawyer-seeks-security-details-from-ag</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325862/mansoor-ijaz%e2%80%99s-lawyer-seeks-security-details-from-ag#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 12 05:26:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Ema Anis]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325862</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Lawyer says current security arrangements look like a well-orchestrated trap to hold Ijaz indefinitely in Pakistan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz has expressed his reservations with the security arrangements made in Pakistan for his arrival, and has therefore requested the judicial commission to record his statements in London or Zurich, his counsel Akram Sheikh said on Monday.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Sheikh said that he had held a teleconference with Ijaz after meeting with IG Police Islamabad and had briefed his counsel about the security arrangements that have been made for him.

"No assurance has been given with regards to his [Ijaz's] life or property. It seems like a well-orchestrated trap to hold Ijaz indefinitely in Pakistan... He refuses to knowingly fall into the government's trap," he added.

On Interior Minister Rehman Malik's assurances of arranging the army for Ijaz's security, Sheikh said: "I don't trust Rehman Malik. I trust Husain Haqqani more than I trust Rehman Malik... Did Benazir Bhutto not die in this country even after getting security assurances?"

The lawyer added that Ijaz is concerned about Pakistan’s money not being wasted and thus does not want the security to waste its money on him. “So, he wants to record his statement while sitting in his office in London. He is ready to tell the truth and present all grafts to the commission.”

Earlier during the day, Sheikh said he had written another letter to the attorney general seeking details of the security being provided to Ijaz during his visit to Pakistan.

He also met Inspector General of Police (IG) Islamabad, who assured him that security will be provided to Mansoor Ijaz.

The judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal has ordered Ijaz to appear before the court personally to record his statements.

The Pakistani-American businessman had expressed reservations over security when he was summoned by the judicial commission to record his statements. He claimed that he and his family were being threatened.

On Saturday, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq had finalised the security arrangements for Ijaz in consultation with the Defence Secretary.

Sheikh had earlier said that by excluding the army from the security, the government wanted to deprive his client of providing valuable evidence linking President Asif Ali Zardari to the memo, while Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had reiterated on Sunday that the government does not wish to spend billions of rupees for his security.]]>
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			<title>Straight shooting: No army protocol for Ijaz, says PM</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325803/straight-shooting-no-army-protocol-for-ijaz-says-pm</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325803/straight-shooting-no-army-protocol-for-ijaz-says-pm#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jan 12 23:54:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325803</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Questioning memo commission’s order, prime minister says the law does not allow such security.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A rude awakening was in store for Mansoor Ijaz on Sunday, with the prime minister rubbishing the Pakistani-American’s wish to be escorted by no less than army commandos upon his return to his native land.


Prime Minister Gilani stated categorically that no army security would be provided for the central character in the memo scandal – stating that the law does not allow the premier to order such a protocol.

The prime minister’s assertion that the provision of such security would be unlawful is in direct conflict with the order of the Supreme Court-mandated judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal, which had ordered that army security be provided to Ijaz if needed, to ensure his presence at the hearing.

In fact, Prime Minister Gilani expressed regret over the commission’s directives, saying that it should not have issued such an order in the first place, given that such a move was impermissible under existing laws. While talking to reporters outside his residence, he said that rules of the current procedure and even the Constitution of the country did not allow him to approve any protocol for Ijaz.

Having said that, the premier did assure that Ijaz would be given “required security,” adding that it was up to him to come or not. He said that according to rules and procedures, the Ministry of Interior provides security, and would do so in Ijaz’s case too.

In any case, said the prime minister, Ijaz was not a head of state that he would require such security.

“Pakistan will have to spend billions of rupees in order to arrange this kind of security for Ijaz. He is no head of state or viceroy.”

He said that the memo commission, before issuing such directives, should have also thought of this.

“The impression the country is giving to the world over the Memogate is that ‘a man whose credibility is questionable has shaken up the whole country’s foundation’,” he said to a question on whether there was a threat posed by the scandal – something he said was dangerous in itself.

In addition to rubbishing the provision of army security for Ijaz, the prime minister also gave a simple but ominous reply to a question on the government’s plan to place the Pakistani-American on the Exit Control List (ECL): saying bluntly that the government would comply with the directives of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security that is probing the scandal alongside the judicial commission.

Aitzaz vs Awan

Asked if Gilani had refused to accept Babar Awan as a minister in his cabinet on the direction of Aitzaz Ahsan, the premier said that Ahsan should not be criticised on baseless arguments. He stated that Ahsan had never demanded any such move and he would accept any course of action that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) decides for Awan.

Letter to Swiss courts

Taking a new stance regarding the letters to Swiss authorities, Gilani, who had earlier stated that he would honour and respect the court rulings, said that the matter was ‘subjudice’ and advised everyone including media and his party office bearers to not discuss the matter.

Husain Haqqani

When asked about Husain Haqqani, and whether he was residing in the Prime Minister House, Gilani said that when a controversy was created against Haqqani, he tendered his resignation just to pacify the media. The premier asserted that Haqqani was innocent since the allegations against him were still not proven.

Political alliances

Regarding the Senate elections and the strategy of the party, particularly with regards to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Gilani said that all internal party matters, including the strategy for the Senate election, will be discussed with the PML-Q.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd,  2012.]]>
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			<title>Army providing security to Mansoor Ijaz uncalled for: Gilani</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325479/army-providing-security-to-mansoor-ijaz-uncalled-for-gilani</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325479/army-providing-security-to-mansoor-ijaz-uncalled-for-gilani#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jan 12 11:54:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325479</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Speaking to media, prime minister says Ijaz is not just insincere to Pakistan, but also to himself.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Asking the army to provide security to Mansoor Ijaz as if he is some head of the state or someone more important than the American president is all “rubbish”, said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday.

Speaking to the media outside Arfa Karim’s residence in Lahore, Gilani said that the government will have to spend billions of rupees in order to arrange for the army for Ijaz’s security. “It seems as if a viceroy is coming over,” he said.

He added that Ijaz is not just insincere to Pakistan but is also insincere to himself, and it is against the law and the Constitution to give him such protocol.

“The impression the country is giving the world that a man whose credibility is questionable has shaken up the whole country is a dangerous message,” the premier added.

The past record of Ijaz indicates that he has always spewed venom against the establishment and the government of Pakistan, he added.

When asked whether Ijaz will be put on the Exit Control List on his return, Gilani remarked that Ijaz is a foreigner and not a Pakistani. “The matter is sub-judice in the judicial commission and the parliamentary committee. Let them decide on the matter.”

Gilani added: “Under the rules of business, under the Constitution and under the system, it is the duty of the Ministry of Interior to provide him [Ijaz] with security.”

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan 

The prime minister sought to quell rumours that Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, who is representing Gilani in the contempt proceedings, had asked Gilani not to accept former law minister Babar Awan as part of his cabinet. “Aitzaz never asked me to not include Awan. The PPP will decide on its future course vis-a-vis Awan and I will accept what the party decides,” the PM said.

NATO Supply

Gilani said that those who are threatening to besiege Parliament House if Nato supply routes are reopened should first read the recommendation of the parliamentary committee formed to make the decision on restoration of supplies. “Neither did the government ask them [the opposition forces] before suspension nor will it seek their permission before resumption of supplies.”

Letter to Swiss courts

In a surprise change of stance, Gilani said refused to talk about whether the government will write to Swiss authorities. “The matter is subjudice and everyone, including the media and party members, should refrain from discussion on it,” he said, in an about turn from his earlier statements where he clearly said that he will respect the court’s ruling.

Husain Haqqani 

Dodging question on why former US ambassador Husain Haqqani was living in the Prime Minister House in Islamabad, the premier turned on the media, saying Haqqani was innocent but had to resign to pacify the media.

Political alliances

As speculations abound that the government is considering calling for early elections, the prime minister said snap polls are not a solution for Pakistan’s problems. He said that the opposition’s strategy was to embarrass the government but swiftly pointed out that there had been no political prisoners during the current government’s rule.]]>
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			<title>Veiled threat: ‘If requested, Ijaz could be put on ECL’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325359/veiled-threat-%e2%80%98if-requested-ijaz-could-be-put-on-ecl%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325359/veiled-threat-%e2%80%98if-requested-ijaz-could-be-put-on-ecl%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jan 12 05:20:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zahid.gishkori]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325359</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Rehman Malik warned that the government will put Ijaz’s name on the Exit Control List, if requested by PCNS.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[While a defiant Mansoor Ijaz insisted that nothing would stop him from entering Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik warned that the government will put Ijaz’s name on the Exit Control List, if requested by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.


On Monday, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) summoned the Memogate protagonist to appear before it on January 26 to probe the controversial memo – and it doesn’t look as if Ijaz is any mood to oblige.

But the interior minister said the government has options in this regard.

“I will issue an order to put Ijaz’s name on the ECL if PCNS wishes to do so,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, Ijaz said that he was not afraid any threats and that ‘nothing could stop’ him from visiting Pakistan.

In an interview with Indian TV channel NDTV, the businessman said that he would bring his BlackBerry devices to Pakistan and make them available to the commission probing the scandal.

“I am coming. I am going to tell the truth. I am going to put the truth on the record forcefully, and I am going to make sure that the people of Pakistan, finally, are able to hold their government accountable for the actions that they take in their name,” Ijaz said.

In response to Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s warning of arresting Ijaz on his arrival, he said that Malik does not even know the facts and had been sending “veiled threats” to him through different statements.

“Malik is someone, I believe, who is prone to make statements of such exaggeration, that he doesn’t even understand what the facts are,” he added.

Ijaz further said that it would be fair to assume that he would arrive in Pakistan before January 26.

In response to the latest development, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) Senator Raza Rabbani said he would speak on the issue through the committee.

Rabbani was commenting on a statement by Ijaz’s counsel Akram Sheikh that the PCNS could not summon his client because he is an American citizen.

Former interior minister Aftab Sherpao, also a member of the committee, said Ijaz should assist committee members to enable them to uncover the truth.

Meanwhile, Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz has requested for permission to attend the January 26 committee meeting in order to ‘question’ Ijaz.

Riaz’s close friends told The Express Tribune that he will question Ijaz about his alleged role in toppling former premier Benazir Bhutto’s government in 1997 and the reasons behind his alleged close association with Pakistani intelligent agencies.

“Raja Riaz wanted to appear before the committee to question Ijaz,” confirmed the interior minister.

(ADDITIONAL INPUT BY NEWS DESK)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Security arrangements for Ijaz finalised: Attorney General</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325057/security-arrangements-for-ijaz-finalised-attorney-general</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325057/security-arrangements-for-ijaz-finalised-attorney-general#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 12 14:16:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[faisal.shakeel]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325057</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Attorney general says Ijaz given foolproof security under Article 245 of the Constitution.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq on Saturday finalized security arrangements for Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz in consultation with the Defence Secretary.

The commission probing into the Memogate scandal had asked me to make appropriate arrangements for Ijaz in its January 9 order, Haq told The Express Tribune.

Ijaz’s counsel, Akram Sheikh had earlier said that by excluding the army from the security, the government wanted to deprive his client of providing valuable evidence linking President Asif Ali Zardari to the memo.

“I have met with the Defence Secretary, Interior Secretary and the representatives of the federal security agencies to finalise the arrangements,” he said. Haq said that army personnel could be involved if required under the commission’s order.

The attorney general said Ijaz had been given foolproof security under Article 245 of the Constitution. He added the article stated that the army could be asked to help the administration “in aid of civil power”.

_____________________________________________

[poll id="632"]]]>
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			<title>'How can I trust Rehman Malik, who is the worst form of Haqqani'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325050/how-can-i-trust-rehman-malik-who-is-the-worst-form-of-haqqani</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325050/how-can-i-trust-rehman-malik-who-is-the-worst-form-of-haqqani#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 12 12:23:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[faisal.shakeel]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325050</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ijaz's counsel insists army has to provide him security in line with the order of the commission.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz’s counsel, Akram Sheikh, insists that the army has to provide him security in line with the order of the commission probing the Memogate scandal.

He said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Security Division Dr Mujibur Rahman Khan called him up and told him that Ijaz’s security was the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior.

“How can I trust Rehman Malik, who is the worst form of Husain Haqqani?” Sheikh remarked.

“On January 9, and again on January 16, the commission issued directions that the army will provide security to my client,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune.

Sheikh said the government wanted to prevent the commission from receiving valuable evidence, which proved the exchange of messages between Ijaz and Haqqani, adding that it linked President Asif Ali Zardari to the memo.

He said that he had also written letters to the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to remind them that Ijaz’s security rested with the army.

Speaking on Express News, the veteran lawyer said that Ijaz, his family, and his lawyers had demanded of him to provide a guarantee that Ijaz, his electronic equipment, which bears evidence for which there exist no other copy, will not be harmed, and that he will be free to come and go as he pleased, as a precondition for traveling to Pakistan. “I, at this point, with all my experience, cannot guarantee that,” he said.

He added that recent statements from certain members of the government only served to heighten Ijaz’s fears in coming to Pakistan. “Rehman Malik saying he will put Mansoor Ijaz’s name on the Exit Control List, and Shazia Marri threatening to file a case against my client, why are they threatening Mansoor Ijaz at the 11th hour?”

He pointed out that as per the Supreme Court ruling, the judicial commission also had the option of recording Ijaz’s testimony outside Pakistan.

With the Advocate General office not responding in the stipulated time, Sheikh said he would file an application against the government for committing contempt of court by ignoring its order on the provision of security to his client by the army.

“I would also move the commission through contempt application,” he added.

A copy of the letter written to General Kayani can be read here.

A copy of the letter written to the Attorney General can be read here.]]>
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			<title>Army can be called for Ijaz's security if required: Rehman Malik</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325041/army-can-be-called-for-ijazs-security-if-required-rehman-malik</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325041/army-can-be-called-for-ijazs-security-if-required-rehman-malik#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 12 10:56:45 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zahid.gishkori]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325041</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Interior minister says attorney general responsible for deciding security for Mansoor Ijaz.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) is not a security force that can provide security to Mansoor Ijaz; however, the army can be called if required, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday.

Speaking to the media at F-9 Park in Islamabad, Malik said that a meeting between the defence secretary, the interior secretary and the attorney general was underway to decide the security arrangements for Ijaz.

He added that it was the attorney general who would decide on the final security arrangements.

The government will put Ijaz’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) if the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) asks for it, Malik said.

“I will put Ijaz’s name on ECL if PCNS directs me to do so,” Malik told the reporters at Fatima Jinnah Park.

Malik reiterated that the government can launch an investigation against Ijaz on his return to the country for violating the Article 6 of the Constitution.

Chairman of the PCNS Senator Raza Rabbani said, “I will speak to the committee on the issue”. He was commenting on the statement given by Ijaz’s counsel that his client will not appear before the parliamentary committee.]]>
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			<title>Nothing can stop me from coming to Pakistan: Ijaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325027/government-forms-committee-for-mansoor-ijazs-security</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/325027/government-forms-committee-for-mansoor-ijazs-security#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 12 07:53:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=325027</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[In an interview with NDTV, Ijaz says he will provide his BlackBerry devices to Memogate Commission.]]>
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				<![CDATA[I am not afraid of anyone sending me threats, and nothing can stop me from visiting Pakistan, said Mansoor Ijaz in an interview with NDTV.

Ijaz told NDTV that nothing can stop him from coming to the country and added that he will bring his BlackBerry devices and make them available to the Commission probing the scandal.

“I am coming. I am going to tell the truth. I am going to put the truth on the record forcefully, and I am going to make sure that the people of Pakistan, finally, are able to hold their government accountable for the actions that they take in their name.”

On Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s warning of arresting Ijaz on his return, Ijaz said that Malik does not even know the facts and had been sending out “veiled threats” to him through different statements.

“Rehman Malik is someone I believe, who is prone to make statements of such exaggeration, that he doesn't even understand what the facts are,” he added.

Ijaz further added that his stance on Pakistan’s army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has not changed over the past years.

When asked if he would arrive in Pakistan before January 26, Ijaz said it was fair to assume that.

Government forms committee for Mansoor Ijaz’s security

A committee has been formed by the federal government to provide high level security to  Mansoor Ijaz when he arrives in Pakistan next week, Express News reported on Saturday.

Ijaz, the central character in the Memogate case, has been summoned by the judicial commission investigating the memo scandal on Jan 24, and before the Parliamentary Commission on National Security (PCNS) on Jan 26.

Sources confirmed that Mansoor's whereabouts will be kept secret upon his arrival in Pakistan and the government has decided to formalise a proper plan to protect him.

It hasn't been divulged which city Mansoor will arrive in but sources have confirmed that the provincial government of which ever city Mansoor stays in will provide him with the utmost protection.

___________________________________________

[poll id="632"]]]>
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			<title>‘I am not Pakistani, cannot be summoned’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324908/memogate-case-%e2%80%98i-am-not-pakistani-cannot-be-summoned%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324908/memogate-case-%e2%80%98i-am-not-pakistani-cannot-be-summoned%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 12 04:23:20 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=324908</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz says his legal adviser is reviewing the parliamentary notice.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the Memogate case, on Friday said that the parliamentary committee investigating Memogate could not summon him because he was not a Pakistani national.


Expressing his reservations, Ijaz said that his legal adviser is reviewing the notice given to him to appear before the parliamentary committee. The US citizen of Pakistani descent said that he was considering taking up the matter with the Supreme Court and that he would decide soon whether he would appear before the committee or not.

Ijaz is to appear before a judicial commission investigating the memo scandal on Jan 24, and before the Parliamentary Commission on National Security (PCNS) on Jan 26

Ijaz’s Counsel Akram Sheikh has confirmed that he will appear in front of the judicial commission investigating the Memogate scandal on January 24.

Earlier on Thursday, Ijaz was granted a one year multiple-entry visa to Pakistan.

Ijaz , accompanied by his lawyer, personally visited the Pakistan High Commission in London on Thursday where he was issued a one-year multiple visa to Pakistan.

Mansoor Ijaz was earlier reported to have said that he was unable to reach the Pakistan High Commission in London due to security concerns. Ijaz also voiced concern over the presence of the media outside the building, after which the Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan offered Ijaz to visit the commission after office hours.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik had earlier said that he could not guarantee if Ijaz will be arrested upon his arrival or not. Rehman had said that he will follow court orders in this regard. However, the interior minister had said that he will provide complete security to him from the time he lands in Islamabad to his entire stay.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Tribune Take: Where does the road lead Mansoor Ijaz?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324623/tribune-take-where-does-road-lead-mansoor-ijaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324623/tribune-take-where-does-road-lead-mansoor-ijaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 12 16:21:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[mahawish.rezvi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=324623</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoo­r Ijaz is giving off the right signal­s, implyi­ng that he is travel­ling to Pakist­an for his...]]>
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				<![CDATA[In today’s episode of the Tribune Take we take a look at the imminent arrival of Mansoor Ijaz for his testimony before a judicial committee investigating the memo.

Kamran Yousaf, a Senior Reporter for The Express Tribune based in Islamabad, says that so far Ijaz has given off the right signals, implying that he is travelling to Pakistan to testify.

However, with the rift between the civilian government and the military increasing, doubts have been cast on Ijaz's security. The military has assured him of taking all necessary security measures during his stay. Meanwhile, the interior minister Rehman Malik has threatened to arrest Ijaz and question him for his role in the downfall of Pakistan Peoples Party's first government in the 1980s.

Yousaf says Ijaz may well be caught in the middle of these two institutions and his recent refusal to testify before the parliamentary committee doesn't help the situation.

Read Kamran Yousaf’s articles here.

Follow Kamran Yousaf on Twitter.

The Tribune Take daily news web show will appear on the tribune.com.pk home page.

The Take will feature in-depth interviews and analysis with editors and reporters who are covering the major stories, exploring front page events and major ledes. The news analysis covers the way The Express Tribune examines a story, how we cover it and why.]]>
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			<title>International man of mystery</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324613/international-man-of-mystery</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324613/international-man-of-mystery#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 12 15:18:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[tazeen.javed]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=324613</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz has been declared the most envied man in Pakistan according to a poll conducted among married urban men.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz has been declared the most envied man in Pakistan according to the latest survey. The poll was conducted among married urban men aged 28-46 and they all agree that Mansoor Ijaz is indeed the luckiest of them all. Contrary to popular understanding, it is not his status as an ‘international man of mystery’ or his perfectly slicked-back-hair that has made men envious all over the country; it is his newfound role as an actor in a dubious music video.

Mansoor Ijaz has been known as an international businessman, a self appointed negotiator and broker of sorts, but ever since a video has resurfaced featuring the chief accuser of the memogate scandal as an actor, people have changed their opinion about him. “I thought he was a small-time troublemaker looking for glory, but who needs glory when you get to commentate for a naked female wrestling match,” said a Karachi-based banker, Ali. His colleague Saad agreed with him, gave a thumbs-up for Mansoor Ijaz and said, “Way to go man!”

A businessman from Lahore, who wishes to stay anonymous, thinks Mansoor Ijaz’s wife is the coolest woman on the planet. “OMG! There is a woman out there who wants her husband to partake in such activities and was there by his side all the way through. She is definitely a keeper.”

For most Pakistanis, the popularity of the video and envy for Mansoor Ijaz stems from the novelty of seeing a man who looks like themselves in a raunchy video with white women. “We always thought that it is the white dudes or the black guys who get to go to places like that, with Mansoor Ijaz in that video, it has given us the courage that we too can do stuff like that in future. All we need is a visa for Europe and some contacts on the other side,” said two high school best friends from an elite Rawalpindi school.

Mansoor Ijaz’s video has also created quite a stir in the lawyers’ community. Many lawyers have come forward wanting to represent him thinking it would give them an opportunity to experience his lifestyle. Mansoor Ijaz’s current lawyer has vowed to stay with him through thick and thin for the same reason. However, it is still not known if the businessman, ladies wrestling commentator and international man of mystery is in the market for a new lawyer.

It is not just the adult men who seem impressed by the memo man. It has been learned through reliable sources that high school kids who showed no interest in English language previously, now want to know the meaning of the words such as ‘tumbling’ and ‘nasty’. One kid even asked his mom if he can name his kitten ‘Double D’. It is not known, yet, if the mother relented.

A local video director is also considering using Mansoor Ijaz to do his music video, however, he does not know if he can afford the rich businessman. He has been told to approach him through his wife, after all, he only relented on his wife’s insistence the first time around.

Due to the success of the “Stupidisco” song in Pakistan, Junior Jack, the video producer, is considering hiring other Pakistanis for his future videos. Sources close to him have revealed that he has shortlisted Sheikh Rasheed amongst others to star in his next video.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>Mansoor Ijaz granted Pakistan visa after personal visit to High Commission</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324305/mansoor-ijaz-granted-pakistan-visa-after-personal-visit-to-high-commission</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324305/mansoor-ijaz-granted-pakistan-visa-after-personal-visit-to-high-commission#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 12 18:39:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=324305</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Masoor Ijaz granted one year multiple-entry visa from the Pakistani embassy in London.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz, the central figure in the Memogate case has been granted a one year multiple-entry visa to Pakistan, Express News reported on Thursday.

Ijaz visited the the Pakistan High Commission in London, where he was granted the visa.

Masoor Ijaz has to appear before a judicial commission investigating the memogate scandal on January 24. He is also due to appear before the Parliamentary committe investigating the same case on January 26.

Earlier, Ijaz had claimed that his life faced a threat in Pakistan. Upon this, the Supreme Court had issued directives that he could be allotted an army security detail.

On Thursday, the Islamabad High Court dismissed a petition calling for the arrest of Ijaz. It ruled that Ijaz could not be arrested till he violates any Pakistani law.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>The vultures will have to wait</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324145/the-vultures-will-have-to-wait</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324145/the-vultures-will-have-to-wait#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 12 18:24:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.shafi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=324145</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mansoor Ijaz plans to be in Pakistan only from before dawn to early afternoon, will that be enough to question him?]]>
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				<![CDATA[Now then, those licking their chops and smacking their lips at the prospect of the prime minister being led in chains and shackles from the Supreme Court straight into a prison cell must surely be saddened at the dignity with which both the honourable court and the honourable prime minister and his lawyer, the peerless Aitzaz Ahsan, handled the situation made needlessly explosive by our ranting and raving TV anchors and a certain raucous newspaper (hint, hint). Kudos to all, with the hope that in the future too, everyone concerned will behave with decorum and rectitude. The world is watching: let us Pakistanis send out the message that we are a responsible and a graceful people.

However, might I express my utter disgust at the sloganeering by two groups of lawyers, one purporting to be the PPP’s supporters and the other the honourable chief justice’s. This is absolutely unacceptable and should never have been allowed in the hallowed precincts of the Supreme Court. I do think strict notice should be taken and the offenders hauled up. If the PM can be proceeded against, why not these ruffians?

By golly if looks could kill, all the ‘bloody civilians’ sitting around the table during the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) Meeting the other day would be long dead by now. I refer not only to the angry demeanour of the Sipah Salaar but also to the Navy and Air force chiefs: all three of them looking down at the table before them as if contemplating a particularly loathsome insect crawling on it.

Can you believe this, readers, even the Navy and Air force commanders who account for nothing before the might of the Sipah Salaar, even they were making their presence felt, as if in complete consonance with their senior comrade! Now, before there are howls of protest from the fans of our Deep State, let me cool them down with a little reminder. I hope they recall that when another Sipah Salaar, the Commando, and his kitchen cabinet generals mounted the foolish, and in the end futile and disastrous Kargil misadventure, the air chief of the time, the gentlemanly and coldly professional Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdi was not even informed of it until the great strategists found themselves in rather hot waters and it was much too late.

It is also said that when the ACM admonished Musharraf for not informing the air force about the misadventure while planning (or whatever went by the name of planning!) it, the Commando took umbrage and never forgot the slight. I myself remember the cheap shots Musharraf aimed at ACM Mehdi at another air chief’s (ACM Mushaf’s) funeral prayers. So please, fans, take it easy: we might be ‘bloody civilians’ but we also know what goes on in our country. Here’s more:

As part of the present onslaught on the democratic government by the Deep State and its camp followers, a retired general Lodhi, reportedly the Sipah Salaar’s chum, just sacked from being the defence secretary has lodged a petition with the IHC praying that his dismissal had everything to do with the government’s “further illegal steps to arbitrarily remove the COAS (Sipah Salaar) and the DG ISI to fulfil a political agenda and ruin the country”. This from a Grade-21 former government servant? I ask you.

Anyway, how the devil has the man come to the conclusion that he was sacked because the government was about to sack the Sipah Salaar and the DG ISI? Could he as defence secretary block any such order from being carried out? Would he refuse to issue the notification? Well, he could have been sacked pronto right then. So? Indeed, how would sacking two people ‘ruin the country’?

On to the Murky Memo and will he or won’t he come and depose before the Commission. Even if he comes, the question to ask is whether the Commission will agree to his demand that he will only appear before it before people begin to stir, i.e., before dawn, and leave Pakistan by the early afternoon?

The fact that he is travelling by private jet (as we are informed by the press) it seems he is going to be in the country for maybe eight or ten hours. Well, what if the defence lawyers for Husain Haqqani (for he is virtually an accused, his passport taken away without him being charged) want to question Ijaz over some days, and then some, while they get more evidence to counter his claims? What then? Will Ijaz come back on another date, on another private aircraft for another eight or twelve hours?

Also, there is much hoopla raised by his lawyer about the possibility of Ijaz being harmed while in Pakistan upon which the Deep State let it be known that he would be looked after by the army and the ISI. Hang on though, for we do know that Ijaz has very often abused the ISI in the most vicious terms, in his most recent rant in the FT in these words: “Questions about the ISI’s role in Pakistan have intensified ... the finger of responsibility in many otherwise inexplicable attacks has often pointed to a shadowy outfit of ISI dubbed “S-Wing”, which is said to be dedicated to promoting the dubious agenda of a narrow group of nationalists ... .

“The time has come for the state department to declare the S-Wing a sponsor of terrorism ... S-Wing must be stopped. ISI embodies the scourge of radicalism that has become a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy”. He has also called the ISI “terror-masters”; “rogue”; and a “cancer”.

What if, God forbid, some members of the ISI, particularly the feared ‘S’ Section, do him harm because of the spiteful and vicious things he has said about them/their organisation? What then? Will the noose be in the necks of the ‘bloody civilians’ as per always?

Stop Press: The government has announced that the DG ISI will not get any further extensions. Will the mighty ISPR roar again? We wait with bated breath ...

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Mansoor Ijaz’s video and other absurdities</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324077/mansoor-ijaz%e2%80%99s-video-and-other-absurdities</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/324077/mansoor-ijaz%e2%80%99s-video-and-other-absurdities#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 12 17:47:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[maria.waqar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=324077</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Seeing the man, who shook the foundation of our govt, in a video featuring semi-nude female warriors was bizarre.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Life is absurd, say the existentialists. They believe that its vicissitudes are not governed by fate or destiny. In fact life’s capricious events are utterly meaningless — there is no lucid narrative tying them together.

But as a strong believer in the coherence and interrelations of events in this world, I had never paid much heed to this philosophy until yesterday, two minutes and 47 seconds into the music video of Italian House DJ Junior Jack’s song “Stupidisco”, my worldview floundered like a castle of cards. There he was — none other than Mansoor Ijaz — amidst a blatant display of flesh, keeping the scorecard for female wrestlers.

Seeing the man, whose allegations shook the foundation of our civilian government, in a video featuring semi-nude female warriors was just bizarre, to say the very least.

We, as a nation, have spent several months speculating about the origins and motives of the mysterious American-Pakistani who precipitated a furore in Pakistani politics. We have seriously wondered why Ijaz came out of the blue with his allegations, brandishing his BlackBerry transcripts against former ambassador Husain Haqqani.

Many of us have desperately tried to salvage the truth from the deluge of clichés that we have been subjected to in this case — is Ijaz a RAW agent or a member of the Zionist lobby?

But for those interested in knowing more, here’s some additional information to satiate your curiosity. Not only has he made millions and negotiated between governments, Ijaz has also made an appearance in an unctuous music video. Don’t expect this piece of information to serve as an epiphany about his ‘true’ interests and identity; in fact it will just hurl you in throes of utter confusion.

At least that’s what it did to me. Just as I saw Ijaz judge a melee between women clad in bikinis, that left little to the imagination, a news alert in the adjacent tab on my computer screen conveyed that the American-Pakistani will be judged very soon. Not in a wrestling ring, but in front of the judicial commission in investigating the memogate scandal.

I tried to connect the dots — find some sort of an explanation linking the ludicrous juxtaposition of an important businessman whose words have profoundly impacted Pakistani politics, with a cameo in an R-rated music video. But it just didn’t make sense. Damn, I thought, couldn’t he just have been a RAW agent? It would have made so much more sense. But it appears that in this case, fact is indeed stranger than fiction.

At that moment, I wondered how our electronic media would debate this ‘issue’. How will our news channels, relentless in their quest for pithy political analysis, link Ijaz’s appearance in a sleazy video to the memo case?

After all, the coterie of strident politicians and screeching talk show hosts take this country’s myriad issues very seriously. They take its politics very seriously. They even take Veena Malik seriously.

So, how will they ever contextualise this new development in the momentous memogate scandal?

Well, the flurry of speculations has already begun to gain momentum. After watching the video, Ijaz’s opponents are casting aspersions on his character in an attempt to undermine him and his allegations. He has responded, alleging that those behind the video are Haqqani sympathisers, a charge that has been denied.

But the truth is that, for once, we need to stop rationalising and finding causal linkages and just ponder over the absurdity of the situation. The instigator of the memogate controversy, which has aggravated the civil-military schism like no other issue in recent times, is the same man who chuckles when the voluptuous Double D ‘gives it good’ to her opponent. There is nothing more to it; there’s no superior sense you can make out of it.

Pakistani politics has always been exciting and overwhelming, but it has now officially entered the realm of the absurd.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2012.]]>
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