The fate of Ambassador Hussain Haqqani is likely to be sealed today (Friday) as President Asif Ali Zardari has convened an important meeting of Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Core Committee meeting in which apart from other vital matters the “memo controversy” will also be discussed.
As the president holds discussions with senior party leaders on ambassador Haqqani’s issue, Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is also likely to call on Zardari once again on a controversy surrounding a secret memo allegedly sent by the presidency through a Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz to Obama administration seeking help to prevent possible military coup against the PPP-led government after the May 2 raid by US forces in Abbottabad in which Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed.
“Ambassador Haqqani, who is believed to have asked Ijaz to hand over the memo to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen, is likely to be asked to relinquish his office today (Friday) after the core committee’s meeting,” said an official here requesting anonymity.
He said the president was likely to inform the army chief about the decision on Haqqani when they met along with assurance that a thorough inquiry would be made into the memo controversy to see why that happened and who else was involved in it.
An official believed that with ambassador Haqqani leaving his post, the tense relations between the civilian authorities and the military leadership were also likely to lessen.
He said the core committee’s meeting would also discuss other important matters including the issue of Zulfiqar Mirza, the rise of Imran Khan as a popular leader and the opposition’s movement against President Zardari.
