PM office vows memo row probe

Pakistan’s envoy to the United States resigned on Tuesday, losing a battle with the country’s powerful generals to keep his job over allegations he wrote a memo to Washington asking for its help in reining them in. Hussein Haqqani told media that he stands by his denials, insisting he had nothing to do with the memo that was sent to then-US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen in May.He said he was “happy to face an inquiry” into the affair. Critics in the media, many viewed as proxies for the military establishment, have been calling for the President Asif Ali Zardari to be investigated, suggesting the memo could be treasonous. A statement from the prime minister’s office said an investigation into the affair would be conducted “at an appropriate level” and would be “carried out fairly, objectively and without bias.” Haqqani has been in the midst of a storm since Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz made the memo public. Ijaz has claimed he drafted the memo on Haqqani’s instructions and delivered it through former US National Security Advisor Jim Jones to the then American military chief Admiral Mike Mullen in May. Insisting that he had played no role in drafting the memo, Haqqani said: “His (Ijaz’s) entire harangue is aimed at pitting the civil and military administrations against each other and sowing the seeds of discord.” Haqqani told The News daily that he had worked hard to cultivate better Pakistan-US relations and was prepared to undergo any investigation and face any charges in connection with the memo. Haqqani said he was prepared to sue Ijaz in a court of law. Meanwhile, amid a raging controversy over  “memogate” a spokesman for Admiral Mike Mullen has asserted that the former Chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee never met or knew a central figure in the controversy. Mullen never met Ijaz, who has alleged that Haqqani, asked for assistance in getting a message from Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to the then top US military leader, Pentagon spokesman, Captain John Kirby told reporters on Monday. Asserting that the admiral did not take the alleged secret memorandum seriously as it was “not signed” and there was no indication that it was coming from the Pakistan president, Kirby said adding the contents of the said letter were not reliable and authenticated. Asked about a Pakistani media report that Jones had admitted to carrying the memo to Mullen, he said: “I am not going to speak to Jones participation in it and if he is speaking that is certainly his account.” “I have said this before and am saying again today. Nothing about that letter had the imprimatur on the Pakistani government,” the Pentagon spokesman said.  “It was not signed. And the contents of it Admiral Mullen did not find credible. So he took no action on it.” “He (Mullen) knew who the third party was who was giving it (this memo) to him. He does not know Mr Ijaz. He never communicated with Mr Ijaz. He did not know that Ijaz was the author of this alleged memo. “He simply got the memo from a third party, read it and decided to do nothing with it because he did not find it at all credible,” Kirby said. Asked about Haqqani’s alleged role, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said as far as they knew the ambassador “is home on consultation.” “We always expect that Pakistan’s leaders will act in accordance with Pakistan’s constitution and in a manner respectful of its democratic institutions. So beyond that, I don’t have any specific comments on this issue,” she added. Meanwhile, Ijaz has started changing his stand and claimed that Zardari had no role in the memo controversy. He told the media that he had no evidence to certify that Zardari authorised the memo or that he had detailed discussion with Haqqani on the issue. The affair underlined the tense relations bewtween the US and Pakistan, a key ally in its struggle against militants, and the internal struggle between civilian politicians and the military in Pakistan. Haqqani is a key ally of Zardari. He was generally well regarded in Washington, where he had a difficult job representing Pakistan during several crises, including the aftermath of the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in May.