‘I am not Pakistani, cannot be summoned’

Mansoor Ijaz says his legal adviser is reviewing the parliamentary notice.

ISLAMABAD:

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 21^st, 2012.