Mansoor Ijaz says has US 'support' for Pak visit over Memo Gate issue

Washington, Jan 21 (ANI): Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the key person in the Memo Gate scandal, has said he had now been assured by the US government of its support during his upcoming visit to Pakistan.

Ijaz said he would travel to Pakistan, but would not reveal the date, The News reports.

He had earlier claimed to have delivered a controversial memo against the army to US Admiral Mike Mullen in May last year and accused the then ambassador Husain Haqqani of being involved in crafting it.

Ijaz said he offered Haqqani to stop "telling lies" about him (Ijaz) and he would stop telling "the truth" about him (Haqqani) but said the former ambassador did not "stop".

"I had a conference call with the US State Department a couple of days ago. The US government will provide the support that they always do for US citizens," Ijaz said.

"They (the US government) made their official position very clear and I made my reasons for going very clear. They understand it's a high profile case and they understand I am a reasonably high-profile American citizen."

"And I think If, god forbid, anything goes wrong they will certainly be there to help my family make sure that things got sorted out. I am absolutely confident that the American government will do the right thing if something went wrong," he added.

Ijaz has been summoned by a judicial commission in Islamabad on January 24 (Tuesday), which was set by the Supreme Court following petitions on the issue moved by opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders and others. (ANI)