Video testimony set in memo scandal

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. businessman of Pakistani origin agreed to testify through a video link from London on an alleged memo seeking U.S. help to prevent a coup in Pakistan.

The Pakistani judicial commission looking into the scandal will take the deposition of Mansoor Ijaz from London after he refused to come to Pakistan, saying he feared for his safety, the News International reported.

In the scandal, which came to light in October, Ijaz was reported to have said Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani, who was later forced to resign, asked him to deliver a memo to the U.S. military, seeking U.S. help to rein in the Pakistani military and prevent a coup.

Haqqani has denied the accusation. The Pakistani civilian government of President Asif Ali Zardari also has denied any involvement in the memo but the scandal has created a standoff between the Zardari government and the military.

The British Embassy in Islamabad issued visas to Zahid Bokhari, lawyer for the former Ambassador Haqqani, and two other lawyers of his team to go to London to cross-examine Ijaz during his testimony Wednesday, the Daily Times reported.