KARACHI: Farahnaz Ispahani, media adviser to President Asif Ali Zardari and wife of Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States, has said that she had fled to the US for fear that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) might kidnap her and subsequently force Haqqani to sign a confession in order to implicate President Zardari in the memo scandal.

Ispahani's claims were reported in a Sunday Times article authored by Christina Lamb. The article further alleged that the Pakistani military was "steadily silencing opponents".

The article moreover stated that Haqqani's life was in danger.

"What we're seeing is the systematic killing or silencing of anyone who stands up to the institutionalisation of a militarised Islamist state, who advocates positive relations with the West or stands up for tolerance," Ispahani told The Sunday Times. "I'm scared, even the government can't even protect itself."