Ijaz's right to record statement should be taken away: Haqqani

Former ambassador says Ijaz's right to record statement should be taken away if he does not appear before commission.

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan ambassador to the United States (US) Husain Haqqani has hit back at Mansoor Ijaz, the central figure in the Memogate scandal, stating that the Pakistani-American businessman’s right to record a statement be taken away if he does not appear before the commission probing the matter, Express News reported on Monday.

Haqqani’s statement comes after Ijaz’s counsel, Akram Sheikh, announced earlier today that his client had expressed reservations over the security arrangements made for him and had requested that the judicial commission record his statement in London or Zurich.

The former ambassador is caught in a tense stand-off between the government and military over a memo that accused the army of plotting a coup after the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden last May.

Haqqani is currently living at Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s hilltop residence in Islamabad, saying that he fears for his life.

Ijaz has also cited security issues as a reason for not coming to Pakistan and his counsel has also demanded that the army provide him with security in line with the order given by the judicial commission.