Memogate hearing: Ijaz continues with his testimony
Zahid Bukhari says Ijaz's evidences should be photocopied and sent to Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD:
Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the Memogate scandal, continued with his testimony on Thursday at the Pakistan High Commission in London.
The Pakistani-American businessman continued from where he had left his statements on the first day of the recording and presented more documents to the judicial commission panel.
He read out his BlackBerry conversation with former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani and told the commission that he had sent a message to Haqqani on May 9 at 1:40pm saying that he has forwarded his message to the Americans, referred to as "Isphanis".
Haqqani replied at 1:44pm in which he talked about director-general Inter-Services Intelligence and the army chief, said Ijaz.
Ijaz told the commission that the DG ISI and the army chief were were given the codename “bad boys” in the messages.
He told judges that Haqqani wrote him a message on his Blackberry referring to the Pakistani government as “friend”, and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha as “bad boys”.
Ijaz said he drafted the memo after Haqqani gave him points and requested that it should be delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen, then chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. The memo was delivered on May 10.
Ijaz also claimed that Haqqani said Islamabad would assist the United States “in locating other bad guys and we also commit American boots on the ground,” if Kayani stepped down.
Media is not being allowed inside the Pakistan High Commission to avoid disruption. Express News correspondent Mujahid Umar reported that an official of the High Commission had requested that the media avoid asking Ijaz any questions on his arrival.
The judicial commission panel questioned him at Pakistan High Commission in London, while the judicial commission in Islamabad quizzed him via a video link.
Haqqani's lawyer opposes video link
The judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal earlier heard applications of Zahid Bukhari, counsel of former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani, against the questioning of Mansoor Ijaz via video link, Express News reported.
Bukhari, in his applications, had demanded that Ijaz be quizzed personally in London rather than via a video link and said that all the evidence that Ijaz is providing should be photocopied and sent to Pakistan.
Ijaz’s lawyer Akram Sheikh, however, replied saying that the evidence is of a ‘secretive’ nature and cannot be shared with everyone. The ones that can be shared will be provided to the commission, he said.
Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the Memogate scandal, continued with his testimony on Thursday at the Pakistan High Commission in London.
The Pakistani-American businessman continued from where he had left his statements on the first day of the recording and presented more documents to the judicial commission panel.
He read out his BlackBerry conversation with former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani and told the commission that he had sent a message to Haqqani on May 9 at 1:40pm saying that he has forwarded his message to the Americans, referred to as "Isphanis".
Haqqani replied at 1:44pm in which he talked about director-general Inter-Services Intelligence and the army chief, said Ijaz.
Ijaz told the commission that the DG ISI and the army chief were were given the codename “bad boys” in the messages.
He told judges that Haqqani wrote him a message on his Blackberry referring to the Pakistani government as “friend”, and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha as “bad boys”.
Ijaz said he drafted the memo after Haqqani gave him points and requested that it should be delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen, then chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. The memo was delivered on May 10.
Ijaz also claimed that Haqqani said Islamabad would assist the United States “in locating other bad guys and we also commit American boots on the ground,” if Kayani stepped down.
Media is not being allowed inside the Pakistan High Commission to avoid disruption. Express News correspondent Mujahid Umar reported that an official of the High Commission had requested that the media avoid asking Ijaz any questions on his arrival.
The judicial commission panel questioned him at Pakistan High Commission in London, while the judicial commission in Islamabad quizzed him via a video link.
Haqqani's lawyer opposes video link
The judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal earlier heard applications of Zahid Bukhari, counsel of former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani, against the questioning of Mansoor Ijaz via video link, Express News reported.
Bukhari, in his applications, had demanded that Ijaz be quizzed personally in London rather than via a video link and said that all the evidence that Ijaz is providing should be photocopied and sent to Pakistan.
Ijaz’s lawyer Akram Sheikh, however, replied saying that the evidence is of a ‘secretive’ nature and cannot be shared with everyone. The ones that can be shared will be provided to the commission, he said.