Islamabad: Fearing arrest and claiming that a "trap" has been laid for him, controversial businessman Mansoor Ijaz, on Monday said he would not visit Pakistan to depose before a judicial panel probing the memo scandal and wants his testimony to be recorded either in London or Zurich.
Ijaz, an American of Pakistani origin who triggered a confrontation between Pakistan's civilian government and the powerful military by making public a secret memo that sought the US help to stave off a feared coup in Pakistan last year, said in a statement that he was willing to depose before the Supreme Court-appointed commission in London or Zurich.
In the statement released through his lawyer Akram Sheikh, Ijaz said he had been given "no assurance" by any person on behalf of Pakistan government to ward off his apprehensions 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 media.
Ijaz had earlier failed to make a scheduled appearance before the three-judge commission on January 16. The commission then asked him to appear before it on January 24.
In a related development, former envoy to US Husain Haqqani, who lost his job to the scandal, today said that the right Ijaz to depose before the judicial panel should be withdrawn if he failed to appear before the panel tomorrow.
Ijaz and his lawyer have repeatedly demanded that the Pakistan army be deployed to protect the businessman whenever he arrived in Pakistan.
The statement from Ijaz ended speculation about his appearance before the judicial commission on Tuesday.
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