WASHINGTON, Jan 6: The US State Department said on Friday that it felt the time had come to demand a fair and transparent judicial process for Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, and to make it clear that “we’re watching”.
On Thursday, three top American Senators voiced concern over the reported mistreatment of Mr Haqqani, urging Pakistani authorities to “resolve this matter swiftly and consistent with civilian rule of law”.
At a State Department briefing, spokesperson Victoria Nuland expressed similar views, making it clear that the US administration too was concerned about Mr Haqqani’s fate.
“While it’s obviously an internal matter for Pakistan, and we respect Pakistan’s constitutional and legal processes, we expect that any process for resolving the matter of Ambassador Haqqani will proceed in a way that is fair, that’s transparent, that is as expeditious as possible,” she said.
“We also expect that Ambassador Haqqani will be accorded all due consideration under Pakistani law and in conformity with international legal standards. And we will be watching and monitoring the situation closely,” she added.
Until now, the State Department had been refusing to comment on the issue, saying that it was Pakistan’s internal matter and it would not be appropriate to comment on this judicial process.
“Can I ask why the change in tone?” asked a journalist. “When I first asked about this, you — there was no answer at all. And then it shifted a little bit to ‘We hope that he gets a fair trial’. And now why the amplification today? Pressure from Capitol Hill?”
Ms Nuland responded: “Well, again, I think we’ve been watching the situation evolve in Pakistan. We didn’t want to prejudge what the legal situation for him would be.”
“As we’ve watched the situation, we have concluded that it is important for us to speak out, as we do around the world, about an appropriate constitutional and legal process for him and to make clear that we’re watching.”
“Does that mean that you are now more concerned about his case and his position than you were several days ago? Have there been developments which lead you to believe that he might not get a fair, transparent and expeditious process?” the journalist asked.
“The situation is obviously evolving in Pakistan, so we want to see it evolve in a manner that meets the highest international legal standard,” Ms Nuland responded.
“Are you more concerned today than you were two days ago about this?” asked the journalist.
“I think we’ve always wanted to see this process handled properly. I think there’s a question simply about whether these messages were conveyed privately or whether it wasn’t also appropriate to convey them publicly,” Ms Nuland answered.
“Has there been some development in this that has led your concern to grow?” the journalist asked again.
“No, there’s nothing. There’s nothing in particular,” Ms Nuland said.
“Has anybody from this department spoken to Ambassador Haqqani since that meeting in this department before he left?” asked another journalist.
“I don’t think we’ve had any official contact with him, no,” the State Department official said.
“Unofficial?” the journalist asked.
“I can’t answer that,” Ms Nuland said.
“Has this message been conveyed to the Pakistani officials as well?” asked another journalist.
“It has, of course, yes,” Ms Nuland replied.
A journalist noted that Ambassador Haqqani’s wife was in Washington and was reaching out to officials and people expressing concern for his life in Pakistan. “Has she met anybody in this building? Has there been any kind of communication?” he asked.
“She has. We have regular contact with her, and we have since he went home,” Ms Nuland said.
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