Policemen stand guard in front of the Islamabad High Court building on January 24, 2012. — Photo by AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: The judicial commission probing the memo scandal was meeting in Islamabad on Friday, DawnNews reported.

During the proceedings at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) building, Zahid Bukhari who is the counsel for Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, told the commission that Mansoor Ijaz had admitted to have written the memo.

Moreover, Bukhari said that Haqqani had resigned from the position of ambassador voluntarily. He further said that his client also wanted a transparent investigation into the issue.

The counsel said Haqqani had complied with every directive of the commission other than the one requiring him to record his testimony in Islamabad. He said Haqqani was still prepared to record his testimony through a video-link.

“Mansoor Ijaz refused to appear before the parliamentary committee” which was looking into the memo scandal, Bukhari said, adding that Haqqani had appeared before that committee.

Responding to which, the commission said that the parliamentary committee was conducting a separate investigation into the subject.

The commission moreover said that Haqqani and Ijaz should not be compared as the latter was a foreign national whereas Haqqani was a Pakistani citizen and a former ambassador.

The commission, comprising of three judges, was meeting under the chairmanship of Balochistan High Court (BHC) Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

The scandal came to light when Ijaz, an American businessman, accused Haqqani of being behind a memo that accused the Pakistani military of plotting a coup in May and appealed to the Pentagon to help ward it off.

The accusation was followed by Haqqani’s resignation on Nov 22, 2011. The former ambassador has repeatedly denied any connection with the memo.

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