Haqqani has right to clarify position: PPP

ISLAMABAD: The Core Committee of ruling Pakistan People’s Party met in the presidency on Friday and decided that Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani should be given a chance to give his version on the issue of a memorandum given to then US military chief Mike Mullen on behalf of Pakistani government.

“The meeting noted that Ambassador Husain Haqqani has been called in Islamabad to give his viewpoint to the country’s leadership on the controversial memo.

“It is observed that natural justice demands that the ambassador is given a fair opportunity to give his version on the controversy,” said President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar while describing details of the PPP meeting that was jointly chaired by President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

It is expected that Mr Haqqani will arrive in Islamabad ‘in the next 24 hours’ and will meet President Zardari to clear his position as he has been claiming that he had nothing to do with the memo.

However, a businessman Mansoor Ejaz, who is said to be used to deliver the memo to the US military chief, told a private TV channel that he had evidence that the memo was written on the instruction of Mr Haqqani and he could provide these evidences before any inquiry commission if he was called to appear before such a commission.

“I have no issue to appear before any forum or the parliament because the facts are there,” he said.

Mr Haqqani told media that he would soon arrive in the country and explain his point of view to the president.

There are rumours that Mr Haqqani may lose his office over the fiasco. However, there was a general perception at the end of the PPP Core Committee meeting that this was unlikely.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that President Zardari was of the view that Mr Haqqani could not have involved himself in such an anti-state affair.

According to the memo, assistance of the US government was sought to avert a possible military coup in Pakistan after the May 2 US operation in Abbottabad.

However, there was a consensus that a high-level inquiry will be conducted to ascertain who had written the memo and on whose instructions.

The meeting was informed that two to three days after the May 2 US operation, President Zardari had written an article in Washington Post in which he had not only praised the country’s military establishment but defended it against the backdrop of the Abbottabad operation.

The meeting was also attended by Senator Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Rehman Malik, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Syed Naveed Qamar, Babar Awan, Senator Jahangir Badr, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, Senator Sardar Ali Khan, Nazar Mohammad Gondal, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Raja Parvez Ashraf, Rukhsana Bangash, Fouzia Wahab, Fouzia Habib and Farhatullah Babar.

The participant said the issue of Zulfikar Mirza and the London visit of Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon were also discussed and the meeting was informed that Mr Memon had been called to the presidency to explain why he had accompanied Dr Mirza to London against party line.

“President Zardari was quite annoyed on the behavior of Zulfikar Mirza and his outburst against coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement,” he said.

The president, he said, asked the participants to suggest what action should be taken on the issue of Dr Mirza.

Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the overall political situation with particular reference to recent developments was also discussed.

The meeting noted that cases related to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) would come up for hearing before the
Supreme Court on Nov 21.

The meeting vowed to vigorously defend the sanctity of the graves of the ‘mother of democracy’ Begum Nusrat Bhutto and the icon of democracy Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

It expressed the hope that the cry for justice rising from the grave of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Baksh would also attract the attention of the independent judiciary.The situation in Sindh also came under discussion and the meeting reiterated that the policy of reconciliation would continue.

The meeting reposed full confidence in the leadership of President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani.