Confusion over whether Ijaz would testify

Geo News channel reported on Thursday that Ijaz had decided not to travel to Pakistan to appear before the Supreme Court-appointed commission on January 16.
It quoted a source close to Ijaz as saying that he had decided not to travel to Pakistan due to possible security threats.

However, two anchors of Geo News subsequently reported that Ijaz had spoken to them and said he would come to Pakistan to testify before the commission. Ijaz told the anchors that he was under no pressure from US authorities about his plans to visit Pakistan.

Ijaz said he was committed to appearing before the commission but refused to set a date for his visit due to security concerns, the anchors reported. He also told one of the anchors that he would apply for a Pakistani visa on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing that Ijaz had not applied for a visa at any Pakistani mission so far.

Ijaz, who made public the alleged memo that had sought US help to stave off a feared military takeover in Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden last year, is scheduled to appear before the commission in Islamabad on January 16. The commission recently ordered the government not to create any hurdles in issuing a visa to Ijaz.