Ijaz says he 'authored and sent' memo to Gen. James Jones without Haqqani's consent

London, Feb 24 (ANI): Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz has said that he had authored the first draft of the memo himself and sent it to General James Jones, to pass on to then-Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, without former ambassador Husain Haqqani's consent.

Ijaz said he subsequently sent the original draft to Haqqani on his Boston University's email address, who returned it after deleting one of the seven points - the one granting US access to Osama bin Laden's wives, The Express Tribune reports.

He disclosed this during his testimony before the commission investigating the case, through videoconferencing from Pakistan's High Commission in London.

Ijaz lost his temper when Haqqani's counsel Zahid Bukhari contested his claim of requesting BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) to provide data.

"Did Haqqani produce his handsets? Did he waive his privacy rights in favour of the commission? We are helping the Supreme Court and the commission in searching the truth about the memorandum, but we are being crucified," Ijaz questioned the commission.

He also said Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had directed Haqqani on the memo issue, insisting that when he asked Haqqani if he had the permission of the 'boss' (President Zardari), the latter replied in the positive.

Ijaz said he sent a final email to both Haqqani and General James Jones on May 10, 2011, adding that he kept the identity of Jones hidden in the email.

"I did not want Haqqani to know who was helping me," he added.

The commission directed Ijaz to submit all records regarding the memo issue, including his email accounts, telephone bills of May 2011 and other relevant documents, used while drafting the memo. It also asked him to cooperate with Haqqani's counsel Zahid Bukhari during his possible cross-examination in the future. (ANI)