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Aamir Qureshi/Agence France-Presse/ Getty Images
Husain Haqqani at the High Court
Building in Islamabad, Pakistan, Jan. 9,
2012. « PREVIOUS
India Art Fair Irons Out Red Tape NEXT » Adult Chocolate, Indian Flavors Name We welcome thoughtful comments
from readers. Please comply with our guidelines. Our blogs do not require the use of your real name. By Annabel Symington Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani ambassador
to the U.S., has declined to return to Pakistan to
testify before the Supreme Court in the so-called
Memogate affair, claiming that the government
is unable to offer him adequate protection. In a Dec. 27 letter addressed to the Ministry of the
Interior, Mr. Haqqani wrote: I will not and
cannot trust my personal safety in the hands of
state machinery that routinely fails to protect
Pakistani citizens. The letter was read out before the Supreme Court
by his lawyer, Asma Jahangir, Monday. At issue is whether Mr. Haqqani, an ally of
President Asif Ali Zardari , was instrumental in the writing and delivery of a controversial memo to
Admiral Mike Mullen, then chairman of the U.S.
joint chiefs of staff, that asked for U.S. help in
averting any prospect of a military coup in the
wake the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. The memo also detailed promises to improve the
protection of Pakistans nuclear weapons, to
curtail the intelligence agencys backing of
militants in Afghanistan and a commitment to
cooperate with India over the investigations into
the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai in exchange for U.S. help. The existence of the memo first came to light
when Mansoor Ijaz, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani
origin, claimed in a column in the Financial Times
in October 2011 that he had helped deliver the
memo to Admiral Mullen at the request of
President Zardari. The Pakistani government dismissed Mr. Ijazs claim. Just over a month later, on Nov. 16, 2011,
Admiral Mullen publically acknowledged that he
had received the memo. He said he viewed it as
probably not credible. Mr. Haqqani resigned a few days later. He has
denied any involvement. The Supreme Court ordered an inquiry into the
incident and is now holding hearings after a
court-appointed commission submitted its report.
The report states that Mr. Haqqani overstepped
his mandate as an ambassador in asking for U.S.
help to avert any military coup. In the letter, Mr. Haqqani strongly criticized the
report. I have neither been charged or tried nor
convicted of any crime under the laws of
Pakistan and yet I have been painted as a
criminal and a traitor or person disloyal to
Pakistan in the eyes of the general public, he wrote. In an interview, he added: I have denied
involvement from day one. In the letter, he claimed that cricketer-turned-
politician Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed,
a former minister in the administration of
President Pervez Musharraf, were encouraging
their supporters in Jihadist terrorist
organizations to eliminate me as a voice for a liberal and tolerant Pakistan and for Pakistans
continued alliance with the United States of
America. Mr. Ahmed, in an interview, denied that he had
ever called for violence against Mr. Haqqani, but
reiterated the call that the former ambassador
needed to be tried for being involved in anti-
state activities. Mr. Khan could not be reached for
comment. Ms. Jahangir, Mr. Haqqanis lawyer, said in court
Monday in front of Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry that the Supreme Court is
encouraging investigations from the top down
rather than the bottom up. The case has been adjourned until Feb. 12. The
Chief Justice has asked the Interior Ministry to
inform Mr. Haqqani of the details of the security
provisions that have been put in place for his
return to Pakistan. Ms. Jahangir said that Mr.
Haqqani would not return to Pakistan regardless of any security put in place for his protection. Mr.
Haqqani said, I will return when I think I can
safely return.
Former Envoy: Pakistan Too Dangerous to Return - India Real Time - WSJ
