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Pak-American businessman Ijaz not be called: Gilani

November 24, 2011 22:20 IST

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said that there were no differences with the powerful military on the meomogate issue that has shaken Pakistani establishment and ruled out calling businessman Mansoor Ijaz to join the probe.

Weeks into the controversy, Gilani said, speculations were rife on the scandal, but ruled out any "threat" to his government.

"Everyone is playing to the gallery" but he claimed that all stakeholders in the country, including the military were "all together".

Two days after then Ambassador to US Husain Haqqani was sacked, the prime minister said the government had no plans to call Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who had made the memo public, to join the probe into the 'memogate' scandal.

Ijaz's revelations that he had drafted and delivered the memo, allegedly on Haqqani's instructions, sparked a storm in Pakistan's political circles.

Claiming that the decisions on the issue were being taken jointly, the Prime Minister said, "The decision that was taken, we were all together."

Gilani said, an investigation will be conducted at the "highest level" to get to the truth behind the secret memo sent to the US military seeking help to prevent a possible military coup in Pakistan.

A "free and fair" investigation will be done at the "highest level" into what the media is referring as the 'Memogate' scandal, Gilani told reporters on the sidelines of an official function.

Rezaul H Laskar in Islamabad
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