ISLAMABAD: The central character of memogate, Mansoor Ijaz Thursday said he had himself prepared the controversial memorandum in the light of points dictated to him by Pakistan's former ambassador Hussain Haqqani,
On second day of the Memo Commission's proceedings held in London for recording Ijaz's statement, Mansoor Ijaz said he had sent the memo to James Jones on May 10 which the latter forwarded (to Mike Mullen) on May 11.
He said on May 12 Husain Haqqani informed him that either the US President (Barrack Obama) or Mike Mullen had telephoned Rawalpindi (GHQ).
The Judicial Commission on memo scandal headed by its Chairman Justice Faiz Isa continued the recording of Mansoor Ijaz's statement on the second day through a video link from Pakistan High Commission in London.
Mansoor Ijaz said many exchanges of messages took place between him and Husain Haqqani which he can send the Memo Commission through email.
He said he also talked to Haqqani on the phone and the conversion lasted for 2 minutes and 34 seconds. I told him the draft of the memo was ready and then emailed it to Haqqani on May 9, he added.
Mansoor Ijaz also showed this email to the commission from his email account.
He said they discussed some of the points of the memo in another telephonic conversation held later between the two.
Ijaz said he had asked Haqqani if he had the permission of Boss (President) to which the he replied 'yes'.
Ijaz said he then sent the memo in PDF format to Gen James Jones on the night between May 9 and 10, 2011 at 1:28 AM after getting a green signal from Haqqani.
He sent a final email to Husain Haqqani and Gen James Jones at 8:45 AM on May 10. The identity of Jones was kept hidden in the email sent to Haqqani, he added.
"I did not want Haqqani to know who was helping me," Mansoor Ijaz.
Justice Esa, the Chairman of the Judicial Commission directed Mansoor Ijaz to speak in short phrases while recording his testimony.
Haqqani's counsel, Zahid Bukhari also objected on the manner in which Mansoor Ijaz spoke while recording his testimony.
Mansoor Ijaz said it was his understanding that Haqqani had directives from the Pakistani President. However, he also said the civilian government needed to be strengthened against the ‘bad boys’. He explained that the term 'bad boys' in the messages referred to Army chief or ISI chief.
Ijaz said Haqqani had messaged that the US could get access to Osama bin Laden’s widows.
The Commission observed that the bill Mansoor Ijaz had provided yesterday did not bear his name. In response, Ijaz said that the phone was under his corporation and it could be verified.
The Judicial Commission today instructed Mansoor Ijaz to cooperate with Husain Haqqani's counsel, Zahid Bukhari if the latter wanted to cross-examine the former and termed forensic examination of evidences at this stage as premature.
Yesterday, the Haqqani's counsel had requested the Commission to put the evidence provided by Mansoor Ijaz through forensic examination and to cross-examine Ijaz in London.
The commission today took exception to the airing of proceedings' footage on various TV Channels and warned of action in case it is repeated.
During yesterday's proceedings Ijaz said, Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani appeared to be agitated and nervous and spoke rapidly at the start of his conversation with me on May 09, 2011.
He said Haqqani asked him if he could convey a message, through the US authorities, to Gen Kayani to stand down. Haqqani also said that in return, Pakistan government would allow American boots on its soil, Ijaz added while appearing before the commission for the first time.
The proceedings were held with the help of video conferencing with Secretary Memo Commission Raja Jawad Abbas and Lawyer of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Rashid A Rizvi in London while Husain Haqqani's counsel Zahid Bukhari and Mansoor Ijaz's lawyer Akram Sheikh were in Pakistan.
The judicial commission was chaired by Chief Justice Baluchistan High Court, Qazi Faiz Isa, while other two members are Chief Justice Sindh High Court, Musheer Alam and Chief Justice Islamabad High Court, Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman.
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