GetWiki

{{Short description|American businessman (born 1961)}}{{good article}}

factoids

Mansoor Ijaz (born August 1961) is a Pakistani-American venture financier and hedge-fund manager. He is founder and chairman of Crescent Investment Management Ltd, a New York and London-based investment firm that operates CARAT, a proprietary trading system developed by Ijaz in the late 1980s. His venture investments included unsuccessful efforts in 2013 to acquire a stake in Lotus F1, a Formula One team. In the 1990s, Ijaz and his companies were contributors to Democratic Party institutions as well as the presidential candidacies of Bill Clinton.During the first Clinton term, when the U.S. had severed official ties with Sudan, Ijaz opened informal communications links between Washington and Khartoum in an effort to gain access to Sudanese intelligence data on Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, who were then operating from Sudan. Ijaz was involved in efforts to broker a ceasefire in Kashmir in 2000–2001, and in the Memogate controversy, in which former Pakistani envoy Husain Haqqani allegedly used him to deliver a memorandum to senior U.S. officials in order to thwart an attempted coup by the Pakistani military after bin Laden was killed.

Personal life

(File:1982 US National Weightlifting Championships (IJAZ DEADLIFT 418 lbs).jpg|alt=Ijaz deadlifts 418 lbs|thumb|left|220px|Ijaz deadlifts 418 lbs, U.S. Nationals)Mansoor Ijaz was born in Tallahassee, Florida, and grew up on a farm in Montgomery County, Virginia.NEWS,weblink The Rediff Interview with Mansoor Ijaz, Rediff.com, 2000-11-28, 2007-02-14, He has two brothers (Atif and Mujeeb) and a sister (Neelam Ijaz-Ahmad). His brother Farouk died in 2012.WEB,weblinkweblink" title="archive.today/20141107030544weblink">weblink dead, November 7, 2014, OBIT - IJAZ Farouk Ahmed, July 6, 2012, The Roanoke Times, 7 November 2014, WEB,weblink Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz, Nuclear Scientist, 55, July 14, 1992, The New York Times, 7 November 2014, His father, Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz (June 12, 1937— July 9, 1992), was a Pakistani experimental physicist and professor of physics at Virginia TechMAGAZINE,weblink Who in the World is Mansoor Ijaz?, Fasih, Ahmed, Newsweek Pakistan, 2011-12-02, 2012-05-12, who was noted for his early role in the development of Pakistan's nuclear energy program and his discovery of numerous isotopes while working at Oak Ridge National Laboratories.NEWS,weblink Not all of Pakistan's nuclear scientists were rogues, Ijaz, Mansoor, Christian Science Monitor, 2004-02-11, 2014-03-17, His mother, Lubna Razia Ijaz, was a solar physicist who worked with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to develop renewable energy programs in Pakistan.NEWS,weblink Lubna Razia Ijaz Scholarship, Virginia Tech, Department of Physics, 2013-11-23,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100615050021weblink">weblink 2010-06-15, dead, Ijaz received his bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Virginia in 1983NEWS,weblink UVA Newsletter, University of Virginia, 2003-02-03, 2014-03-17, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140201191722weblink">weblink 2014-02-01, and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985,BOOK, Miniter, Richard, Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror,weblink 2014-03-16, 2003, Regnery Publishing, Regnery, An Eagle Publishing Company, 9781621571117, 226–, where he was trained as a neural sciences engineer in the Harvard-MIT Medical Engineering Medical Physics Program (M.E.M.P.).While attending the University of Virginia, Ijaz earned All-American status as a powerlifter in March 1982 with a combined lift total (squat, bench press and deadlift) of 960 lbs at the National Collegiate Powerlifting Championships held at Marshall University.NEWS, Ijaz shoots for half ton, Purdy, Tom, The Cavalier Daily, Cavalier Daily, 1981-09-11, Coached by John Gamble, he competed in the 56 kg class. Later that year, he competed at the U.S. National Powerlifting Championships in the 52 kg class and finished third.NEWS, Ijaz qualifies for lifting nationals, Appel, Larry, The Cavalier Daily, Cavalier Daily, March 1982, Ijaz was Virginia State Champion in the 52 kg and 56 kg classes and set more than 25 Virginia State powerlifting records during three years in the sport.NEWS, The Ijaz's: Mom prays her sons to powerlifting titles, Geran, George, The Roanoke Times, September 1980,

Professional life

Wall Street career

File:M IJAZ Lotus F1 Grid MC.jpg|alt=Ijaz at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2013|thumb|right|220px|Ijaz at the Monaco Grand PrixMonaco Grand PrixMansoor Ijaz began his career on Wall Street in 1986, joining Van Eck Associates Corporation as a technology analyst. In 1990, Ijaz left Van Eck to start Crescent Investment Management LLC, where he developed a trading system, Computer-Aided Regression Analysis Techniques, to manage his first hedge fund. His mentor at Van Eck, Klaus Buescher, joined Crescent as president in 1991, and they together managed the company until Buescher's death in June 1997. Since that time, Ijaz has remained active as Crescent's owner, operating it as a quantitative investment adviser and venture investing firm.BOOK,weblink Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror, Miniter, Richard, Regnery Publishing, Regnery, 9781621571117, 2003, 2014-03-19, 117, In the early 2000s, Crescent transitioned from a traditional hedge-fund management firm to a focus on venture investments, initially in homeland security technologies after the September 11 attacks. Ijaz formed and listed Crescent Technology Ventures PLC on London's AIM Stock Exchange to raise venture capital for his projects, but changes in AIM Rules for small-cap investment companies forced the start-up to de-list a year later.WEB,weblink AIM Notices, London Stock Exchange, 2005-03-18, 2014-03-21, In the 2000s, Ijaz also launched an effort to finance and build what would have been the world's first underwater hotel, Hydropolis. Construction of this Dubai resort was projected to cost US$500 million in 2007,BOOK,weblink 1,200 Square Feet Under the Sea, Behar, Michael, Popular Science, 64–68,270.1, 2007, 2014-03-21, but was shelved by local authorities after the financial crisis of 2008.MAGAZINE,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090417043834weblink">weblink dead, April 17, 2009, Architecture in Recession: U.A.E., McKnight, Jenna M., Bloomberg Businessweek, 2009-04-15, 2014-03-21, Crescent Hydropolis Holdings LLC continues operations today under private ownership.MAGAZINE,weblinkweblink" title="archive.today/20140319192733weblink">weblink dead, March 19, 2014, Company Overview of Crescent Hydropolis Resorts Plc, Bloomberg Businessweek, 2014-03-21, 2014-03-21, Crescent's venture investments included a bid together with its Abu Dhabi affiliate, Al Manhal International Group LLC, to acquire a stake in Formula One team Lotus F1. Quantum Motorsports Limited, a partnership between Crescent and Al Manhal, announced its intention to acquire 35% of Lotus F1 in June 2013.NEWS,weblink Lotus will be the No. 1 team on the Formula One grid 'within a year', claims new investor Mansoor Ijaz, Cary, Tom, The Daily Telegraph, 2013-06-19, 2014-03-21, After several delays related to financing the deal, it did not take place.MAGAZINE,weblink Lotus Formula 1 team talks with Quantum continue, Noble, Jonathan, Autosport, 2014-01-21, 2014-01-21, WEB, Saward, Joe, Finding the truth,weblink joeblogsf1, 21 January 2014, 31 August 2015,

Media commentator

Ijaz has also served as a media commentator and has written numerous opinion pieces for internationally known publicationsNEWS,weblink Missing Reporter Daniel Pearl, PBS NewsHour, 2002-01-29, 2014-03-24, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times in the United States and the Financial Times in the United Kingdom. On television, he has served as a guest commentator for U.S. networks CNN, ABC, and Fox News, as well as for the BBC in the United Kingdom.NEWS,weblink Mansoor Ijaz: Fixer in Pakistan's 'Memogate' Row, BBC, Asia Edition, 2012-02-22, 2014-03-24, Hired as a Fox News contributor in late 2001, Ijaz appeared as a counterterrorism and foreign affairs analyst on various network programming.WEB,weblink Fox News Contributors: Mansoor Ijaz, Fox News Channel, 2003-09-05, 2005-12-19, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20051219180134weblink">weblink December 19, 2005, By 2007, his appearances on Fox were no longer exclusive to the network.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-12-21, live, Mansoor Ijaz on Pakistan bombing, Fox News Channel, Cavuto on Fox, 2007-10-18, 2014-03-25, {{cbignore}} He continued to appear periodically for various networks in Pakistan,WEB,weblink Interview with Mansoor Ijaz, Lekin with Sana Bucha, Geo TV, 2011-11-19, 2014-03-25, {{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}} IndiaWEB,weblink I will be in Pakistan before the 26th: Mansoor Ijaz, NDTV 24x7 with Barkha Dutt, NDTV, 2012-01-20, 2014-03-25, and the U.S.WEB,weblink Zakaria Interviews Mansoor Ijaz on Memogate, Global Public Square with Fareed Zakaria, CNN, 2011-12-05, 2014-03-25, into early 2012 as Pakistan's Supreme Court-appointed Judicial Commission began the Memogate inquiry.

Political life

(File:Ijaz & Hillary Rodham Clinton 1999.jpg|alt=Ijaz with Hillary Clinton in July 1999|thumb|right|220px|Ijaz with Hillary Clinton, July 1999)Through his opinion pieces and political fundraising, Ijaz has advocated for the integration of Muslims into the American political mainstream.NEWS, Campaign Giving as a Freedom Tax, Ijaz, Mansoor, Los Angeles Times, 1997-03-14, He raised significant amounts for various Democratic Party causes during the 1990s when President Clinton had paved the way for minority communities to become more active in U.S. politics, encouraging fellow Pakistani and Muslim Americans to join his fundraising efforts along the way.BOOK, Curtis, Edward E., Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History,weblink 2014-03-16, 2010, Infobase Publishing, 9781438130408, 258–, WEB,weblink Political Participation and Engagement of Muslim Americans, Jamal, Amaney, Princeton University, American Politics Research, Sage Publications, Vol. 33 No. 4 pp 521–544, July 2005, 2014-03-28, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150529043549weblink">weblink 2015-05-29, In 1996, Ijaz raised or contributed more than $525,000 for the Clinton-Gore re-election campaign,NEWS,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140611025526weblink">weblink dead, 2014-06-11, Democratic Fundraiser Pursues Agenda on Sudan, Ottaway, David, The Washington Post, 1997-04-29, 2014-03-28, bringing Ijaz into close proximity with Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Hillary Clinton as well as other Clinton administration national security officials with whom he would later engage on Sudan, Kashmir and Pakistan's nuclear program.NEWS,weblink Mansoor Ijaz: the Man Who Stirred Up Pakistan's Memogate Storm, Lieby, Richard, The Washington Post, 2011-11-29, 2014-03-28, Ijaz also used his fundraising results to advance his causes in Congress, appearing as an expert witness in front of committees in the Senate on extremist threats faced by the United States NEWS,weblink Mansoor Ijaz also brokered US-Sudan talks over Osama extradition, Shah, Sabir, The News International, 2011-11-19, 2014-03-28, WEB,weblink Testimony of Mansoor Ijaz, 1999 Senate Hearings, United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sub-Committee on Near East and South Asian Affairs, 1999-11-02, 2014-03-28, and in the House of Representatives to advocate for Washington to adopt a policy of "constructive engagement" with rogue Muslim countries affected by U.S. sanctions.NEWS,weblink 1997 Congressional Hearings - Intelligence & Security, United States House Committee on the Judiciary, House Judiciary Committee, Sub-Committee on Crime and Terrorism, 1997-06-10, 2014-03-22, As Ijaz' prominence in Democratic Party circles increased, allegations of conflicts with his business interests also surfaced, although they were never proven. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Ijaz had a public falling out with senior Clinton-era officials, including the former president, Sandy Berger and Susan Rice, over what he deemed were failures in their counterterrorism policies during Clinton's two terms in office.BOOK,weblink Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, Franken, Al, Al Franken, Penguin Books, Penguin, 2004, 9781101219447, 2014-03-31, NEWS,weblink Clinton Let Bin Laden Slip Away and Metastasize, Mansoor, Ijaz, Los Angeles Times, 2001-12-05, 2010-06-13, In 2007, Nevada Republicans approached Ijaz to run against Sen. Harry Reid, in a bid to unseat the Senate Majority Leader, but Ijaz declined.NEWS,weblink Muslim American taking on daunting odds in bid to unseat Reid, Smith, John, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2007-08-22, 2014-03-28, Ijaz was a member of the board of directors of the Atlantic Council from 2007 until 2009,Atlantic Council NEWS,weblink Mansoor Ijaz - Board of Directors, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090806072638weblink">weblink 6 August 2009, 6 April 2016, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,Council on Foreign Relations NEWS,weblink CFR Membership Roster, 2014-03-24,

Philanthropic activities

Away from Crescent's daily affairs and former political and media engagements, Ijaz has served on the College Foundation Board of Trustees at the University of Virginia,NEWS,weblink UVA President's Report October 2004-September 2005, September 2005, University of Virginia, 2005-09-10, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060903074225weblink">weblink 2006-09-03, and he serves on the advisory board of the Rebuilding Afghanistan Foundation.WEB,weblink Rebuilding Afghanistan Foundation, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140329082314weblink">weblink 2014-03-29, RAF raises funds for building education infrastructure and programs in Afghanistan, including the construction of schools such as Mayar Elementary School, which enrolled 400 boys and girls from Maidan Wardak Province upon opening in late 2005.WEB,weblink Rebuilding Afghanistan Foundation Press Book, Rebuilding Afghanistan Foundation, 2014-04-03, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140407071832weblink">weblink 2014-04-07, During the mid-1990s, Ijaz supported Developments in Literacy, an initiative to build and operate elementary schools in rural Pakistan as alternatives to the religious schools in which many Pakistani children were being radicalized. The group did not seek to create a secularized school system; its goal was to teach the Qur'an as one of many subjects rather than as the only subject.NEWS,weblink Senate Hearing 106-297, United States Government Printing Office, 1999-11-02, 2014-04-03, Ijaz and his wife Valérie also serve as goodwill ambassadors for a British charity, Children of Peace, that works to reconcile differences between Palestinian and Israeli youth.WEB,weblink Goodwill Ambassadors, Children of Peace Official Website, 2014-03-31, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140407093337weblink">weblink 2014-04-07, In late 2011, while addressing the World Peace Festival, a peace conference held in Berlin, Ijaz announced an intention to donate 1% of his net worth to create a Humanitarian Relief Fund that would make an effort to alleviate the root causes of poverty. In noting his belief that governments have often failed to provide assistance to the poor in sufficient ways over the long term, Ijaz sought similar pledges for the proposed fund from other philanthropists.WEB,weblink Philanthropist Mansoor Ijaz surprises with impressive commitment, World Peace Festival, 2011-09-23, 2014-04-03,

International negotiations

(File:Ijaz & Clinton 1996 DSCC Event.png|alt=Ijaz with President Bill Clinton in June 1996|thumb|right|220px|Ijaz with President Bill Clinton, June 1996)

Negotiations with Sudan

Mansoor Ijaz was involved in unofficial negotiations between the U.S. and Sudanese governments in 1996 and 1997 to obtain access to Sudan's intelligence files on Osama bin Laden and the early remnants of Al-Qaeda's network there after efforts to extradite bin Laden to the U.S. failed in early 1996. In the same year, the United States Congress imposed sanctions against Khartoum over allegations of harboring and abetting terrorist cells on its soil.NEWS,weblink U.S. Was Foiled Multiple Times in Efforts To Capture Bin Laden or Have Him Killed, The Washington Post, Barton, Gellman, 2001-10-03, In early 1996, CIA and State Department officials held secret meetings near Washington, D.C., with Sudan's then-defense minister, El Fatih Erwa.NEWS,weblink 1996 CIA Memo to Sudanese Official, The Washington Post, 2001-10-03, In May 1996, bin Laden left Sudan for Afghanistan under pressure from the United States when the meetings failed to reconcile U.S. demands made of Khartoum about its record in aiding, abetting and harboring known terrorist groups and individuals.Ijaz first met Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and other Sudanese leaders in August 1996 and reported his findings back to U.S. government officials, including Lee Hamilton, ranking member of the House Committee on International Relations at the time, and Sandy Berger, then Clinton's deputy national security adviser, and Susan Rice, then director for African Affairs at the National Security Council.BOOK,weblink Trading Secrets: Spies and Intelligence in an Age of Terror, Huband, Mark, I.B. Tauris, 978-1-84885-843-5, 2013, 2014-03-24, 122, Initially, Khartoum sought U.S. sanctions relief, particularly for its growing oil sector, in return for access to its intelligence data on Al Qaeda's nascent network and bin Laden's activities there.NEWS,weblink The Osama Files, Rose, David, Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair, January 2002, 2014-03-24, However, the sanctions continued until U.S. officials exempted some in unrelated policy decisions that benefited U.S. oil companies.NEWS,weblink Sudan Exempted by U.S. From Terrorism Act, Ottaway, David B., Los Angeles Times, 1997-01-23, 2014-03-24, Ijaz then argued that Washington should adopt a policy of "constructive engagement" with Khartoum vis-a-vis economic development and political reconciliation in return for Sudanese counterterrorism cooperation.In April 1997, Omar al-Bashir (:File:Bashir letter to Hamilton.jpg|sent a letter) to Hamilton, hand-carried by Ijaz from Khartoum to Washington, D.C., in which Sudan made an unconditional offer of counterterrorism assistance to the FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies. Madeleine Albright, then newly appointed secretary of state, decided to test the Sudanese government's moderating public stance, and on September 28, 1997, she announced that certain U.S. diplomats would return to Khartoum to pursue, among other objectives, obtaining Sudan's counterterrorism data.NEWS,weblink Slowly, U.S. Is Returning Some Envoys To the Sudan, Krauss, Clifford, The New York Times, 1997-09-28, 2014-03-24, According to former U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Tim Carney and Ijaz, Susan Rice, then newly appointed as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke persuaded Berger to overrule Albright's overture to Khartoum. In early October 1997, the State Department abruptly reversed its diplomatic entendreNEWS,weblink State Dept says it erred on Sudan envoys, The New York Times, 1997-10-01, 2014-03-25, and proceeded in early November to announce new, more comprehensive trade, economic, and financial sector sanctions against the Sudanese regime.NEWS,weblink Executive Order 13067--Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Sudan, U.S. Treasury Department, 1997-11-05, 2014-03-25, Ijaz ended his efforts to reconcile U.S.–Sudan relations over counterterrorism issues in the summer of 1998 after the FBI declined Sudanese intelligence chief Gutbi Al-Mahdi's final unconditional offer of counterterrorism cooperation.NEWS,weblink Intelligence Failure? Let's Go Back to Sudan, Carney, Timothy M., Ijaz, Mansoor, Washington Post Outlook Section, 2002-06-30, 2014-03-24, Capturing bin Laden had been an objective of the U.S. government from the presidency of Bill Clinton until his death in 2011.NEWS,weblink Bill Clinton: I got closer to killing Bin Laden, CNN, 2006-09-24, 2014-03-25, Ijaz asserted that in 1996, prior to bin Laden's expulsion from Sudan, the Sudanese government allegedly offered to arrest and extradite him to the United States. Khartoum's offer included detailed intelligence about the growing militancy of Hezbollah, Hamas, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Iran's Revolutionary Guard, among other groups operating in the region. Ijaz further asserted that U.S. authorities allegedly rejected each offer despite knowing of bin Laden's involvement in training terrorists in Somalia, some of whom were allegedly involved in supporting militia members that downed U.S. Black Hawk helicopters in Mogadishu in October 1993. Any evidence of bin Laden's involvement in criminal activity against U.S. interests, such as training militia members who attacked U.S. troops in 1993, could have been grounds for indicting him far before Sudan expelled the Saudi fugitive in May 1996.However, the 9/11 Commission found that although "former Sudanese officials claim that Sudan offered to expel bin Laden to the United States", "... we have not found any reliable evidence to support the Sudanese claim."NEWS,weblink 9-11 Commission Report, 2004-07-22, 2014-03-27, Amb. Carney reportedly had instructions only to press the Sudanese to expel bin Laden because the U.S. government had no legal basis (i.e., no indictment outstanding) to ask the Sudanese for further action.NEWS,weblink 9-11 Report, Section 4, Responses to Al Qaeda's Initial Assaults, August 2004, 2014-03-27, In August 1998, two years after the warnings, the U.S. launched cruise missile strikes against Khartoum in retaliation for the East Africa embassy bombings.WEB,weblink To Bomb Sudan Plant, or Not: A Year Later, Debates Rankle, Risen, James, October 27, 1999, The New York Times, 6 November 2014,

Ceasefire negotiations in Kashmir

In 2000 and 2001, Ijaz was involved in efforts to broker a ceasefire in Kashmir, the cause of multiple wars between India and Pakistan since independence. He held a series of meetings with senior Indian and Pakistani government officials as well as senior Kashmiri leaders in both Indian and Pakistani-held Kashmir from November 1999 until January 2001, traveling to India secretly on out-of-passport visas.NEWS,weblink Architects and Wreckers of the Kashmir Peace Plan, Gopal, Neena, Gulf News, 2005-05-11, 2014-03-28, Following months of clandestine negotiations between militant Kashmiri commander Abdul Majid Dar and A. S. Dulat, then-chief of India's intelligence directorate, Dar declared a unilateral ceasefire in the Himalayan enclave on July 25, 2000. The initial ceasefire was aborted by a hard-line militant faction within Dar's Hizbul Mujahideen, widely believed to have been supported by Pakistani intelligence.NEWS,weblink The Hizbul-Mujahideen Ceasefire–Who Aborted It?, Menon, Jaideep, Bharat Rakshak, Bharat Rakshak Monitor, Sep–Oct 2000, 2014-03-28, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090109055407weblink">weblink 2009-01-09, In order to gain Pakistani support for India's peace efforts in Kashmir, Ijaz met Gen. Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad in May 2000. Musharraf reluctantly agreed to back the ceasefire plan despite opposition from hardliners in the ranks of Pakistan's armed forces and intelligence services.Ijaz carried Musharraf's message to senior Indian officials, including India's then-deputy intelligence chief, C. D. Sahay. Sahay and Ijaz worked together to develop a comprehensive blueprint for participation of a wider cross-section of Kashmiri resistance groups, particularly militant groups operating from Pakistan-held Kashmir. In late summer 2000, Ijaz traveled to Muzaffarabad to negotiate with Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Salahuddin. That meeting resulted in Salahuddin (:File:2000.08.17 KASHMIR Sayed Salahuddin Letter to Clinton on Peace Offer.jpg|issuing a letter) to President Clinton,NEWS,weblink A Workable Peace Plan for Kashmir, Ijaz, Mansoor, International Herald Tribune, 2000-11-22, 2014-03-28, hand-carried to the White House by Ijaz, in which the Kashmiri leader requested Clinton's support for Salahuddin's further steps in Kashmiri ceasefire negotiations.The plan drafted by Sahay and Ijaz reportedly became the basis of a decision by India's prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to announce a unilateral ceasefire in Indian-held Kashmir in November 2000.NEWS,weblink India Announces One-Month Cease-Fire in Kashmir; Unilateral Move Aimed at Opening Talks With Rebel Groups, Constable, Pamela, Pamela Constable, The Washington Post, 2000-11-20, 2014-03-28, To broaden support for the plan, Ijaz met with senior Indian government officials in New Delhi and leaders of Kashmiri resistance groups in Srinagar. He would later bring the two sides together for face-to-face negotiations. But Ijaz's efforts to build permanent peace ended in early 2001 when he shared his plans with Indian home minister L. K. Advani to bring Pakistan's Islamic groups on board in support of wider Indo-Pakistani peace. A resulting peace summit between India and Pakistan, held in Agra in June 2001, sought to forge an agreement on a permanent resolution to the Kashmir conflict, but Musharraf and Vajpayee ultimately failed to persuade their hardliners to allow signing of an accord.WEB,weblink Indo-Pakistani Military Standoff: Why It Isn't Over Yet, Kampani, Gaurav, Senior Research Associate at Monterey Institute of International Studies, 2002-06-01, 2013-02-15,

Memogate

File:Ijaz with Gen. Jones, Bagram Air Base, October 2006.jpg|alt=Ijaz with General James L. Jones in Bagram Air Base, Oct. 2006|thumb|right|220px|Ijaz with General James L. Jones, NATO Commander, Bagram Air BaseBagram Air BaseMansoor Ijaz was one of the key protagonists in Pakistan's Memogate controversy.NEWS,weblink Architects and wreckers of the Kashmir plan, Gopal, Neena, 2005-05-11, Gulf News, 2014-03-16, On October 10, 2011, Ijaz published an opinion piece about the interference of Pakistan's intelligence services in the function of its democratic institutions. In the opinion's prelude, Ijaz disclosed the existence of a (:File:Mullen Memorandum & Judicial Commission Report.jpg|memorandum) that he had allegedly been asked to deliver to Admiral Mike Mullen, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on behalf of a senior Pakistani diplomat,NEWS,weblinkweblink 2022-12-11, subscription, live, Time to take on Pakistan's jihadist spies, Ijaz, Mansoor, Financial Times, 2011-10-11, 2014-03-24, later identified as Pakistani envoy Husain Haqqani, in the days following the Abbottabad raid.NEWS,weblink Pakistan US ambassador offers to resign over 'memogate', BBC News, BBC World News Asia, 2011-11-17, 2014-03-24, The memorandum sought the Obama administration's help to avert a military takeover of Pakistan's civilian government in the immediate aftermath of Osama bin Laden's death.NEWS,weblink Secret memo on Pakistan to Adm. Mike Mullen, Linch, Greg, The Washington Post, 2011-11-17, 2014-03-24, It was delivered to Mullen at Ijaz's request by former U.S. national security adviser General James L. Jones.NEWS,weblink Former NSA James Jones says he delivered memo to Mullen, PTI Report, The Hindu, 2011-11-21, 2014-03-24, Then-leader of the opposition, Nawaz Sharif (who would later become Pakistan's prime minister), lodged a petition with the Supreme Court of Pakistan to investigate the origins, credibility and purpose of the memorandum.NEWS,weblink Memogate: Supreme Court admits Nawaz petition for regular hearing, Tanveer, Rana, The Express Tribune, 2011-11-28, 2014-03-24, His and other petitions lodged with the Supreme Court alleged that the memorandum had been drafted by Haqqani at the behest of Pakistan's then-president, Asif Ali Zardari, and delivered without knowledge of the country's powerful armed forces and intelligence services. On December 30, 2011, after reviewing Sharif's petition, the Supreme Court constituted a Judicial Commission to conduct a broad inquiry.NEWS,weblink Secret memo on Pakistan to Adm. Mike Mullen, Ahmad, Munir, Associated Press, 2011-12-30, 2014-03-24, Ijaz was among the key witnesses deposed, as were Pakistan's intelligence chief, Ahmad Shuja Pasha and Haqqani. Pakistan's army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani submitted written testimony to the Supreme Court, as did then-Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani on behalf of the Zardari government.NEWS,weblink Pakistan's 'memogate' bodes ill for Zardari, Rashid, Haroon, BBC News, BBC World News Asia, 2011-12-16, 2014-03-24, After nearly six months of investigations, the Judicial Commission reported its findings on June 12, 2012.NEWS,weblink Haqqani sought US support through memo, Staff Report, The News International, 2012-06-12, 2014-03-24, It found that the memorandum was authentic and that Haqqani was its "originator and architect".NEWS,weblink Judicial Commission Report, Pages 108-121, Judicial Commission, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 2012-06-12, 2014-03-24, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120619082347weblink">weblink 2012-06-19, {{rp|119}} The report said the former ambassador "orchestrated the possibility of an imminent coup to both persuade Mr. Ijaz to convey the message and also to give it (Memorandum) traction and credibility".{{rp|108}} The justices found further that one of Haqqani's purposes was to head a new national security team in Pakistan. In an unexpected turn of the investigation, a secret fund was discovered in Pakistan's Washington embassy that Haqqani allegedly had access to and had allegedly utilized, in "apparent violation of Article 84 of the Constitution of Pakistan".NEWS,weblink Judicial Commission Report, p92, Judicial Commission, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 2012-06-12, 2014-03-24, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150924050600weblink">weblink 2015-09-24, The commission's report exonerated President Zardari from any prior knowledge of the memorandum, although it noted that in the "considered view" of the justices, Haqqani had led Ijaz to believe the memorandum had the Pakistani president's approval.{{rp|111}}NEWS,weblink 'Boss' Zardari had no involvement in Memogate: Commission Report, Khan, Azam, The Express Tribune, 2012-06-12, 2014-03-24, Following testimony by Ijaz, the commission deemed him a reliable witness whose credibility Haqqani had unsuccessfully sought to undermine.{{rp|112}}The Supreme Court, upon hearing the commission's report in session, ordered Haqqani to appear before the bench. The former envoy, however, continued to reject the commission's findings while maintaining his innocence. As of July 2014, he remained in the United States.NEWS,weblink Memogate case: Supreme Court issues notice to Interior Secretary, Staff Report, Pakistan Observer, 2013-01-29, 2014-03-24, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140325012820weblink">weblink 2014-03-25,

References

{{Reflist|2}}

External links

{{commons category|Mansoor Ijaz}}

• Testimony to House Foreign Affairs Committee, May 9, 2009
• December 2011 interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria
• November 2011 interview with NDTV's Barkha Dutt (47:14), 11-20-2011
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121011195933weblink">Musawer Mansoor Ijaz – America's Secret Emissary

{{Authority control}}