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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