Islamabad: Mansoor Ijaz, the central figure in the memo scandal, hs
refused to Islamabad to Pakistan to appear before a judicial commission
investigating the matter over security concerns, his defence counsel
said Monday.
Ijaz said in a statement that he was willing to depose before the Supreme Court-appointed commission in London or Zurich.
In
a statement released through his lawyer Akram Sheikh, Ijaz said he had
been given no assurance by any person on behalf of the government to
address to his concerns regarding his security.
“It seems like a
well-orchestrated trap to hold Mansoor Ijaz indefinitely in Pakistan
after his deposition before the commission. Therefore, Mansoor Ijaz has
decided to make a request to the commission to record his statement in
strict compliance with the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan...in
London or Zurich,” Sheikh told the reporters in Islamabad.
Mansoor
Ijaz had also failed earlier to appear before the commission on January
16. The commission then asked him to appear before it on January 24.
Ijaz
and his lawyer have repeatedly demanded that the Army should be
deployed to protect the businessman whenever he arrived in Pakistan.
Ijaz
decided to ask the commission to record his statement outside Pakistan
after reviewing security arrangements for his planned visit this
morning, Sheikh said.
The lawyer said he had informed Ijaz of
“fundamental changes” in the security arrangements, which he claimed
were a “stark violation” of the commission’s orders issued on January 9
and 16.
Sheikh claimed that even the Pakistan Army had backed
out on assurances regarding the provision of security to Ijaz. He
claimed these assurances were given during a meeting of the army’s Corps
Commander held on January 12.
Sheikh met the Islamabad Police
chief to discuss the security arrangements for Ijaz, the lawyer said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Mujibur Rehman was made the focal
person for these arrangements and police officials had said that they
would seek assistance from the armed forces only if it was necessary,
Sheikh said.
The Parliamentary Committee on National Security,
which too is investigating the memo scandal, had issued a summons to
Ijaz to appear before it on January 26.
Interior Minister Rehman
Malik said if the parliamentary panel desire, Ijaz’s name could be
included in the Exit Control List, to stop him from leaving the country.
Referring to these developments, lawyer Akram Sheikh said Ijaz
was “not willing to fall in the trap laid by the government” and appear
before the parliamentary panel. Legal experts had advised Ijaz that the
parliamentary committee could not summon a foreigner, Sheikh said.
Ijaz
had decided that the parliamentary panel too could record his statement
in London or Zurich or use any testimony he gives to the judicial
commission, Sheikh said.
Sheikh made contradictory statements
while explaining Ijaz’s decision not to come to Pakistan. Months after
Ijaz triggered one of the worst standoffs between the civilian
government and the military in recent years, Sheikh claimed that the
businessman did not “want to create tensions between Pakistan’s state
institutions” and that he did not “desire any confrontation” between
them.
“Ijaz decided in Pakistan’s best interests that his
statement should be recorded outside Pakistan. He is not a criminal that
he has to appear before a court...He offered to cooperate on a
voluntary basis and no court or commission has the powers to summon a
foreigner,” he said. Online
