Pakistan’s ambassador in the United States resigned Tuesday, the casualty over a roiling controversy over a memo dismissed as a fake by U.S. officials that allegedly disclosed a coup attempt by his country’s military.
Husain Haqqani, who is now in Pakistan, told The Washington Examiner that he is ready to move after his forced resignation.
“I have resigned to bring closure to this meaningless controversy threatening our fledgling democracy,” Haqqani said. “A transparent inquiry will strengthen the hands of elected leaders whom I strived to empower.”
Haqqani, who is considered a close ally of the United States and a top adviser to Pakistan President Asif al Zardari, was accused by businessman Mansoor Ijaz of dictating a memo in May that was to be delivered to then Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, stressing the need for U.S. intervention against a possible coup by Pakistan’s military. In exchange for that help, Pakistan would give the green light for the U.S. to track down al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban leaders in Pakistan, the memo said.
Haqqani has vehemently denied any involvement with the memo, and said that it was part of a hoax to discredit his country’s civilian government at a time when anger ran high over the mission by U.S. Navy SEALs that killed Osama bin Laden. But in Pakistan where elaborate conspiracies are the daily fare of the national media, the memo has been embraced by many as proof of perfidy by the Zardari government.
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American officials have accused Ijaz of not being credible. Mullen dismissed it as a fake when it arrived in May, a week after the killing of bin Laden in Pakistan.
Haqqani, who has been an advocate of Pakistan’s democratic government, said he welcomes an investigation into the matter.
“To me Pakistan and Pakistan’s democracy are far more important than any artificially created crisis over an insignificant memo written by a self-centred businessman,” Haqqani said.
Reuters news agency is reporting that Pakistan may select a diplomat with stronger ties to Pakistan’s powerful military. That prospect is being seen in Pakistan as a not-so-subtle acknowledgement that the military has the upper hand in confrontations with the civilian government. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir or Hussain Haroon, Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations, are two possibilities for the job, Reuters reported.
Haqqani, who was once a journalist, is going to return to his writing and advocacy of a democratic Pakistan, he said. “I have served Pakistan and Pakistani democracy to the best of my ability and will continue to do so,” he added.
Sara A. Carter is The Washington Examiner’s national security correspondent. She can be reached at [email protected].
