Memogate row: Haqqani feared spy agencies may put pressure on him

Jan 01, 2012 |

Islamabad

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Pakistan's ex-envoy to US Husain Haqqani took shelter in Prime Minister's House after returning home as he feared that the country's powerful spy agencies might force him into giving a statement on the memo scandal.

Leading rights activist and lawyer Asma Jahangir, who has quit as counsel for Haqqani in legal proceedings related to the memo scandal, said the former diplomat feared that Pakistani spy agencies might force him into giving a statement.

"This fear was the reason behind his stay at the Prime Minister's House," she told old Dawn News channel.

Haqqani resigned as the Ambassador following allegations that he was instrumental in drafting of a memo on behalf of President Asif Ali Zardari which was delivered to the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

The said memo called for establishing a new security council and expressed apprehension over a military coup after the US operation in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden. Haqqani was summoned back to Pakistan over memo controversy and after his arrival the former diplomat was reportedly staying with President Asif Ali Zardari.

When Zardari flew to Dubai on December 6 reportedly to undergo some medical treatment, Haqqani also moved from the Presidency to Prime Minister's House the next day. The same day Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said that Haqqani's name has been put on the Exit Control List (ECL).

Pakistani media had reported that Haqqani was getting bored at the relatively deserted Aiwan-e-Saddr (Presidential House) and he took up the matter with Yousuf Raza Gilani who asked him to his delight to shift to a Prime Minister's House annexe.

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