The United States has sharpened its appeal for Pakistan to treat fairly its former envoy to Washington accused of crafting a memo which has triggered a scandal.
Husain Haqqani resigned over the affair and a Pakistani commission is probing the unsigned memo said to have sought Washington’s help to head off a feared military coup in May in exchange for overhauling the country’s powerful security leadership.
“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,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
“We also expect that Ambassador Haqqani will be accorded all due consideration under Pakistani law and in conformity with international legal standards,” Nuland told reporters.
“And we will be watching and monitoring the situation closely,” she said as she stressed respect for Pakistan’s constitutional and legal processes.
Nuland said Washington wanted to repeat earlier comments “perhaps a little bit more clearly.” However, she said there was no particular development that prompted her additional remarks.
On Thursday, she gave the following brief statement: “We want to see any judicial proceedings go forward in a manner that is open, transparent and consistent with the highest standards of international justice.”
Republican senators John McCain and Mark Kirk as well as independent Senator Joe Lieberman voiced concern Thursday that Haqqani may be “becoming a political tool for revenge,” and urged Pakistan to resolve the issue swiftly.
The Pakistan commission on Monday summoned Haqqani to testify as well as former US National Security Adviser General James Jones and ISI DG Ahmad Shuja Pasha.
Tensions between the powerful army and government soared over the note, allegedly delivered to the then US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen in May and made public by an American-Pakistani businessman in October.
The businessman, Mansoor Ijaz has claimed that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari feared the military might overthrow his government, and accused Haqqani of crafting the memo with the president’s support.
Haqqani has denied the allegations against him, and told Britain’s Daily Telegraph earlier this week that the charges were “false” and part of a “psychological war” against him.
He also voiced fears about his safety saying “there are clear security concerns given the hysteria generated against me.”
US again urges Pakistan to treat ex-envoy fairly
