Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani. — File Photo.

WASHINGTON: Pakistan shares the US goal of restoring stability to Afghanistan, says an American expert while a former US envoy urges Washington to strengthen its trade and investment ties with Islamabad.

But Pakistan’s former ambassador Husain Haqqani has urged the United States to break up ties with his country so that it “can find out whether its regional policy objectives of competing with and containing India are attainable without US support”.

In a testimony before a sub-committee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Peter Bergen also warned the United States against over-reliance on unpopular drone strikes in Fata.

Mr Bergen, who is a director at a Washington think tank, the New America Foundation, said that the United States and Pakistan had enough common grounds to work together in Afghanistan.

“On Afghanistan, Pakistan has some important common goals with the United States, Nato and Afghans themselves,” he said.
“Pakistan does not want to see Afghanistan collapse into a renewed civil war which would destabilise Pakistan too.”

Mr Bergen also rejected a perception that Pakistan wanted the Taliban to return to power in Kabul after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

At a separate discussion at another Washington think tank, Marc Grossman, America’s former special envoy for the Pak-Afghan region, urged the United States to strengthen its trade and investment ties with Pakistan.

Mr Grossman, who left the Obama Administration in December 2012, said relations between the two countries had improved recently, “still there is a huge amount to be done”, in the vital relationship.

In his first public appearance after retirement, Mr Grossman told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that the United States “should continue to take steps with Pakistan to promote further counter-terrorism cooperation and support for peace in Afghanistan”.

He said one of the important developments in the last year had been Pakistan’s open expression of its commitment to support an Afghan-led peace process.

At the House subcommittee, Mr Bergen said the United States could work with Pakistan to create conditions for a successful transition in Afghanistan after 2014, after Washington’s planned withdrawal of combat troops from that country.

Mr Bergen also advised the Afghans to recognise the Durand Line, drawn by the British in 1893 which now serves as the de facto border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.“The fact that Afghanistan doesn’t officially recognise this border makes its claims that Pakistani-based militias routinely violate this border ring a little hollow,” he said.

He argued that the general elections in Pakistan this year and in Afghanistan next year would also play a crucial role in securing the long-term interests of the United States in the region.

Mr Bergen emphasised the need to base America’s relationship with Pakistan on “trade rather than aid” as it would benefit both.

Mr Haqqani also addressed these issues in an article he wrote for a popular current affairs site, “Foreign Policy”, arguing that the US and Pakistan should acknowledge “their interests simply do not converge enough to make them strong partners”.

He wrote that by coming to terms with “this reality, Washington would be freer to explore new ways of pressuring Pakistan and achieving its own goals in the region”.

Islamabad, meanwhile, “could finally pursue its regional ambitions, which would either succeed once and for all or, more likely, teach Pakistani officials the limitations of their country’s power”, he added.

Mr Haqqani pointed out that the relationship between the United States and Pakistan had never been good.

He quoted a recent opinion poll which showed that a majority of Americans viewed Pakistan unfavourably while another found that about 70 per cent of Pakistanis disapproved of the US.

Supreme Court of Pakistan. — Photo by AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: During Monday’s hearing of the memo case, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Interior Secretary Khwaja Siddiq Akbar and directed him to explain why Husain Haqqani and his counsel had not been informed over security measures to be taken for the former ambassador, DawnNews reported.

A nine-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has been hearing into the controversy revolving around the memo scandal after the judicial commission constituted by the Supreme Court had held that Haqqani was the originator and architect of the memorandum sent to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen seeking US intervention to avert a possible overthrow of the civilian government by the military.

Haqqani was first named in the controversy by US businessman Mansoor Ijaz who had said that it was the former ambassador who had asked him (Ijaz) to deliver the memo to the then US military chief days after the May 2, 2011 US raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.

During the hearing, the chief justice said every Pakistani citizen was obligated to follow the directives issued by the country’s courts.

Haqqani’s counsel, Asma Jahangir, said regardless of the court’s directives, she could not bring her client back to Pakistan.

Responding to which, Chief Justice Iftikhar said the interior ministry had decided to provide security to the former ambassador.

Jahangir said despite her having written two letters to the interior ministry, she had not been contacted by the latter over her request.

The chief justice moreover remarked that the bench wanted to know why Haqqani had failed to appear before it.

Jahangir said her client was not a fugitive, adding that Haqqani did not want to take the risk of returning to Pakistan.

She moreover presented Haqqani’s letter before the bench.

The bench then issued a notice to the interior secretary and directed him to explain why Haqqani and his counsel had not been informed over security measures to be taken for the former ambassador.

The hearing was subsequently adjourned to Feb 12.

Supreme Court of Pakistan. — AFP photo/File

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was hearing the case pertaining to a controversial memo sent to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen seeking US intervention to avert a possible overthrow of the government by the military, DawnNews reported.

The case was being heard on Monday by a nine-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Earlier in June 2012, the Memo Commission had held that Pakistan’s former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani was the architect of the controversial memo.

During today’s hearing, the chief justice said Haqqani had stated that if he was called to appear in court, he could do so on a four-day notice.

Haqqani’s counsel, Asma Jahangir, said that Haqqani’s review plea was still pending along with his petition to be granted exemption from court appearances.

Addressing Jahangir, the chief justice said that the bench had respected the counsel’s word as she was a senior advocate.

The chief justice moreover remarked that although earlier Haqqani was ready to appear in court on a four-day notice, now he had filed a request of exemption from appearances.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, on Tuesday submitted an application for exemption from appearing before the court in the memo case, DawnNews reported.

Haqqani filed the application through his counsel Asma Jahangir who based the request on her client’s letter.

The application said that after the memo commission’s report, different sections of the media and certain political leaders had declared him a traitor to the country which was why his life was in danger from opposition and extremist circles.

Furthermore, Haqqani requested the court that due to his illness he was undergoing medical treatment abroad and that was why he could not return to Pakistan and should therefore be declared exempt from court appearances in the case.

During the July 12 hearing of the memo case, the Supreme Court had given the counsel three days’ time to file Haqqani’s request for exemption.

A nine-judge bench, headed by Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, has been hearing the case on the controversy after the Memo Commission held that Haqqani was the architect of the memo sent to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen seeking US intervention to avert a possible overthrow of the government by the military.

Supreme Court of Pakistan. — Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday heard the memo case, DawnNews reported.

A nine-judge bench, headed by Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, heard the case on the controversy after the Memo Commission held that Pakistan’s former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani was the architect of the memo sent to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen seeking US intervention to avert a possible overthrow of the government by the military.

During the hearing, petitioner Barrister Zafarullah said Haqqani was still in the United States and had not returned to Pakistan to appear before the bench despite being summoned.

Moreover, the court inquired Haqqani’s counsel Asma Jahangir as to why her client had not appeared for the hearing.

Asma said the court’s directives had been delivered to Haqqani, adding that her client’s life was in “grave danger”.

My client has not said that he would not return to Pakistan but he has certain reservations, Asma said.

The counsel should request the government and not the court to provide security to Haqqani, Justice Tariq Pervez said.

“Haqqani was being provided security when he was useful…we contacted the government regarding his security but have not been given a reply,” Asma said.

She moreover said she had received a letter from Haqqani which she later read out to the court.

The letter said that sections of the media had portrayed Haqqani as a turncoat and that PTI chairman Imran Khan and Sheikh Rasheed had labelled him as a traitor to the country.

On that, Justice Pervez inquired as to why the counsel was making public the correspondence between herself and her client.

Making this letter public is what my client wants, Asma told the bench.

Asma moreover requested the court to review its directive of summoning Haqqani in the given circumstances.

Allowing Haqqani three days to file an application for exemption from appearing before the court, the bench adjourned the hearing to an unspecified date.

Earlier on June 29, the court had asked Haqqani and US businessman of Pakistani origin Mansoor Ijaz, a central character in the scandal, to appear before it on Thursday.

“I will not risk my life until the circumstances that have put my life in jeopardy have changed,” Haqqani said in the letter addressed to the Supreme Court.

Rights activist and former SCBA president Asma Jahangir. — Photo by AFP

LAHORE: Asma Jahangir, counsel for former ambassador Husain Haqqani, has expressed reservations over a report presented by the memo commission to the Supreme Court and accused the panel of being biased.

Talking to reporters at the Lahore High Court here on Tuesday, she questioned the commission’s jurisdiction in relation to its several findings and said “under what law the commission can declare anybody a traitor”?

She said the commission acted in two capacities — complainant and adjudicator. The inquiry report should have been shown to the counsel of the parties before it was presented to the Supreme Court, she added.

Ms Jahangir said the commission declared that Mr Haqqani had forced Mansoor Ijaz to write the memo, but failed to establish any evidence to the effect.

She alleged that the commission was totally prejudiced and the report had exposed it. It did nothing but fought the case of Mr Ijaz, she said.

The lawyer said the SC had taken up the case of Mr Haqqani without intimating the counsel and it was not mentioned in the “cause list” issued on Monday. “I came to know about the hearing of the Haqqani case through news aired by television channels which is highly regrettable,” she added.

Ms Jahangir said it was shocking that the court intimated Mr Haqqani who was outside Pakistan, but failed to inform her.

She said: “I will follow Supreme Court rules and will not appear before court without proper intimation.”

She said if she were the attorney general she would never appear before the court on a notice received late at night. She strongly objected to the fixing in haste of the Haqqani case for hearing. Whether the purpose of doing so was to divert the attention of the media, she asked.

Asked if Mr Haqqani would return to the country following SC’s directions, Ms Jahangir said she had not seen the commission’s report because she had not received it.

She said the commission recorded Mr Ijaz’s evidence through video conference but denied the same facility to Mr Haqqani. “This politics should be stopped now. It will not boost judiciary’s sanctity,” she added.

The lawyer pointed out that ANP leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan and poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz were declared traitors and said there was a possibility that she would also be declared the same.

She said the judiciary should mend its ways and make good history. “Disgracing people is not justice,” she concluded.

Husain Haqqani—File Photo

The global fighting stage has changed substantially over the period of years where war fields have engulfed the world of internet. It started off when Nato and Isaf combated with Taliban on Twitter by contradicting on the fatalities after an attack, capturing of an alleged insurgent and other statements which were only intended to demean one another. However, the move changed the dynamics of the new-age wars and controversies greatly.

The famous and one of the most controversial scandals in Pakistan is associated with Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani who is known to be an active twitter user. After the memo commission’s hearing on June 12, 2012 in which Attorney General Irfan Qadir declared Haqqani as a disloyal citizen and said that the memo was actually authored by him, invited a stream of tweets from the former ambassador.

Haqqani tweeted that the findings of the commission were one-sided and went on to say that people who let military dictators amend constitution cannot talk about loyalty and patriotism.

Whilst the commission was making the findings of the report public, Haqqani himself was addressing his own court.

The judiciary of Pakistan and Haqqani were making statements, however, the recipients and perspectives of the both differed significantly. Whilst the commission addressed the people of Pakistan and provided them with an account of the findings, Haqqani continues to dissect the situation by attributing it as a move to politicise the general course of events.

With over 40,000 followers, who are either in a love or hate relationship with the former ambassador, Haqqani has turned into a huge celebrity. According to the recent internet trends, memo scandal and Hussain Haqqani are the most talked about topics in Pakistan, with memo being second and Haqqani securing the sixth position.

The analysis and the minute-by-minute account of the case and Haqqani’s stance over each and every allegation can be rightly considered as a war between Pakistan’s judiciary and himself, with latter’s responses being close to a testimony—one that he claims he did not have during the case.

It is too early to ascertain the actual intentions of the former ambassador, however, it can be said that through this move he aims to win an audience and reach out to the judiciary as well which according to him was always inaccessible and refused to entertain him fairly.

The tweets that followed his statements from different Pakistanis ranged from accusing him of treason to hailing him as one of the most righteous figures of our time.

Many of his fellow twitteratis question him on when does he intend to return to his homeland. However, with Supreme Court of Pakistan declaring United States as Haqqani’s homeland and he himself calling Pakistan as his own, one wonders which declaration to consider more credible.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, on Tuesday said that the memo commission’s report was of a “political” and not a “legal” nature, DawnNews reported.

Haqqani moreover said that his lawyers would be challenging the commission’s proceedings.

On the social media website Twitter, Haqqani stated that the report was “being used to distract attention from other embarrassing issues”, adding that the report’s claims were “political, not legal.”

The commission “is not a court”, he wrote on his Twitter handle, adding that “those claiming it has determined guilt or innocence are wrong”.

Calling the commission’s proceedings “one-sided”, the former ambassador said they would be challenged by his lawyers.

Regarding the commission’s remarks regarding his loyalty to Pakistan, Haqqani wrote that his patriotism could not be judged by “those who endorsed military dictators & allowed them 2 amend constitution”.

He moreover said that the claims of a “foreign accuser” were entertained in his case but his version was not even heard.

Supreme Court of Pakistan. — Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: The memo commission’s report submitted in the Supreme Court stated that Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, was not loyal to the country and that the memo seeking US support was indeed real and authored by Haqqani, DawnNews reported.

A nine-member larger bench of the Supreme Court was on Tuesday hearing constitutional petitions about the controversial memo delivered to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen reportedly by Haqqani.

The bench, headed by the chief justice, comprised Justices Mian Shakirullah Jan, Jawwad S. Khawaja, Khilji Arif Hussain, Tariq Parvez, Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Amir Hani Muslim, Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry and Azmat Saeed.

During the hearing, Haqqani’s counsel Asma Jahangir said that a hearing without issuance of a notice was unusual.

The court reissued notices to all those party in the case and ruled that Haqqani should appear at the next hearing.

It court also directed that the memo commission’s report be made public.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Iftikhar said that the court would analyse the report and determine what facts have been stated in it.

Reissuing notices to those party in the case, the court adjourned the case’s hearing for two weeks.

Earlier on Monday, the three-member memo commission, headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, had submitted its report to the apex court. It stated that the memo was indeed real and authored by the former ambassador.

The commission’s report said that Haqqani had forgotten that he was Pakistan’s ambassador to the US.

The report moreover said that Haqqani violated the country’s constitution, adding that while Haqqani was earning a salary paid by the government, his loyalties were not with Pakistan.

The former ambassador chose not to stay in Pakistan, the report said, adding that neither did Haqqani have any property in the country, nor did he have any bank balance.

The commission moreover said that the purpose of writing the memo was to convince American authorities that Pakistan’s civilian government was US-friendly and that it was only the civilian setup that could control the expansion of Pakistan’s nuclear work.

The report also stated that through the memo, Haqqani wanted to convince the US over the formation of a new security team and that he wanted to head the team himself.