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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said he feared he would be killed if he were to leave the official residence of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Haqqani said he had only left the prime minister's residence on three occasions and with a heavy security escort.
"I'm a guest of the prime minister with whom I have had a long-standing political association. There are clear security concerns given the hysteria generated against me. Staying at the prime minister's house is the safest option,” Haqqani said.
"My good friend Salman Taseer was killed by a security guard because he heard in the media that the governor had blasphemed. I'm being called a traitor and an American lackey in the media with the clear encouragement of certain powerful quarters even though I've not been charged legally with anything," he told The Daily Telegraph.
Haqqani further said that the allegations that were being levelled against him were unfounded and were a part of a "psychological war" against the government by "certain powerful quarters".
"The president and prime minister are firmly standing behind me and the government is not going anywhere. This is psychological warfare against the government," he was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying.
Earlier in November, Haqqani had resigned from the position of Pakistan's envoy to the US, days after American businessman Mansoor Ijaz accused him of being behind a memo which said that the military was plotting a coup and appealed to the Pentagon to help ward it off.
Haqqani has denied any connection with the memo.
