A memo purportedly written by Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States asking for American help in stopping a military coup in his country has been dismissed as a clumsy fake by U.S. officials, but is threatening to further destabilize an already deeply divided Pakistan.
The disclosure of the memo has brought pressure on Ambassador Husein Haqqani to resign. But in an interview with The Washington Examiner, Haqqani called the memo a fraud aimed at deepening the estrangement between the military and intelligence services in Pakistan and the civilian government.
Haqqani vowed to return to the capital of Islamabad to expose the deception. But he conceded that the episode has already added to the distrust and animosity toward the United States that was already strong even before Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan without tipping the government or military.
“The entire fabrication relating to the memo … seems to be geared towards fanning hatred towards Pakistan’s democratic government and the United States,” Haqqani said.
The controversy began when Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz told Reuters news service that a week after the killing of bin Laden, Haqqani had dictated to him a memo from the country’s president Asif al Zardari seeking U.S. help in stopping a suspected coup. The memo was to be delivered to then Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Michael Mullen.
Haqqani said the story was absurd. “Given my close relations with several U.S. officials it defies logic that I would connive with a private individual to communicate with the U.S. government on such important matters,” he said in an interview Friday as he prepared to depart to Pakistan.
But in Pakistan the allegation that Zardari wanted U.S. help in controlling the military has been seized upon by enemies of the civilian government.
“Haqqani’s accuser, Mr. Ijaz, has a long track record of fabricating false information and self-promotion,” said Bruce Riedel, former CIA officer who chaired President Obama’s Afghanistan/Pakistan strategy. Pakistan’s army is, “using this invented scandal to oust a long time critic” and weaken the civilian government, said Riedel, now a senior analyst at the Brookings Institution, a D.C. think tank. “None of this is good for U.S. interests.”
Haqqani said, “I look forward to a full investigation in Pakistan to determine what actually happened. I did not write or deliver any memo to Admiral Mullen, whom I know personally.”
Mullen first denied knowledge of the memo but later admitted he received it from Ijaz in May. Mullen said he did not take action on the memo because he did not find it credible.
Lisa Curtis, a former CIA analyst, who is now with the Heritage Foundation, a think tank in Washington, said the memo played into deep-seated fears in Pakistan. “Many believe there may be moves afoot to undermine the Zardari government, and the Mansoor Ijaz letter may be one of the acts in the drama.”
A Pakistani official said, “this reveals the problems that are inside Pakistan. There is no doubt this memo will effect Pakistan’s government, its future, much more than the U.S. relationship with Pakistan.”
As for Haqqani’s fate, “If the leadership thinks he should be removed in order to resolve the problems now mounting in Pakistan, then he’s more than willing to do it [resign],” the official said.
Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said Thursday to a Pakistani news agency that his government will investigate the allegations against Haqqani before any conclusions are reached.
Sara A. Carter is The Washington Examiner’s national security correspondent. She can be reached at mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected].
