LAHORE: Defence minister Ahmed Mukhtar told a press conference in Lahore on Sunday that any decision on Haqqani's future would lie with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and must be made after an investigation.

“If our ambassador is involved, then it is a matter related to the prime minister,” Mukhtar said. “The prime minister just cannot dismiss Haqqani without giving him a charge-sheet and conducting an investigation.”

Asked whether there was any chance of a military coup in the country, Mukhtar said: “I don't think so.”

He added that a BlackBerry messenger conversation reported to have taken place between Ijaz and Haqqani was also under investigation, after it was leaked to Pakistani media this week in an apparent bid to prove the ambassador's involvement with the memo.

He further stated that the fall of the government is PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif’s agenda but he will remain unsuccessful as the Pakistan Peoples Party will continue to strengthen the government instead.

Hussain Haqqani arrived in Islamabad on Sunday to answer questions about his alleged involvement in a secret memo scandal that threatens his job.