Sartaj accuses PPP of letting Haqqani issue visas to Americans

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz Tuesday said in the Senate that then PPP government had authorised ambassador of Pakistan to US Husain Haqqani to directly issue visas to Americans.

Opposition senators called for constitution of a parliamentary committee to look into the revelations made by the former ambassador. Winding up discussion in the House on an adjournment motion about the recent startling revelations made by Haqqani, he said the Ministry of Interior had written a letter to the ex-ambassador on July 16, 2010, authorising him to issue ‘diplomatic visas’ to Americans without referring or consulting the Interior Ministry or security agencies.

He pointed out this marked a significant policy change as the number of such visas to Americans reached 2487 from 1659 within a short period of six months. Aziz said Haqqani made a misstatement on the issue of visas before the Abbotabad Commission. However, Aziz described Haqqani as a willing instrument used by the then political leadership.

He was of the view that the matter required a detailed inquiry and suggested formation of a parliamentary committee to hold a thorough probe. He said the government would fully cooperate with the parliamentary panel as defence minister has already proposed to form a joint parliamentary panel to probe into the matter.

The proposal by the senators to grill Haqqani compelled Senate Chairman Main Raza Rabbani to also press for holding probe into allegations against Gen Pervez Musharraf, who allegedly allowed Americans along with equipment to enter Pakistan without any visas, in case of proceedings with a probe against Haqqani.

He said that Musharraf allowed Americans along with equipment to enter Pakistan without any visas, who were not even checked by the immigration officials at Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

“The Americans entered Pakistan without visas on special directives of Musharraf through a passage way used for cargo at Benazir International Airport and it continued for years unless the security personnel prevailed on him,” he added.

They were speaking on an adjournment motion moved by Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qayum of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Haqqani’s ‘confession of facilitating the US operatives’ to hunt down Osama bin Laden in Pakistan back in 2011.

Haqqani admitted to facilitating the stationing of American special operations and intelligence personnel on Pakistani soil and forging links that eventually allowed Washington to carry out the raid in Abbottabad to eliminate Osama bin Laden.

Senator Abdul Qayyum said that the PPP government should have thought before appointing a controversial man like Haqqani as ambassador to US, the world’s most important country, given his track record which is full of venom against country’s security establishment.  He contended things had reached a level where a probe against him becomes need of the hour in the larger interest of the national security.

PTI’s Mohsin Aziz asked why such a ‘shadowy character’ was handpicked for the top slot of ambassador to US, adding the Momeogate Commission’s report should be made public to expose dubious people like Haqqanis.

Another PTI Senator Azam Swati said that a ‘rogue clown’ named Hussain Haqqani must be brought back to Pakistan and be tried under Article 6 – high treason. This prompted Senate chairman Raza Rabbani to interrupt and say: “You can bring him back because he is civilian, but you can’t bring Gen Musharraf back”.

PPP Senator Abdul Rehman Malik, a former interior minister of PPP, said that Haqaani pursued the policies of Gen Musharraf regime. He said that three former ambassadors – Dr Maliha Lodhi, Gen Jehangir Karamat and Javed Asharaf Qazi – had been doing so as Pakistan had made a commitment to track down Osama bin Laden.

“Go for investigation against all the ambassadors right from Musharraf regime to Hussain Haqqani and everything will be crystal clear,” he maintained. Leader of Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan said that the big mistake PPP was that it accepted people from PML-N, as it was ruling party, which had appointed Husain Haqqani as ambassador to Sri Lanka.

However, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said that there was no confession and no new revelation in Haqqani’s article and a hype had deliberately been created to malign and tarnish image of the then President Asif Zardari.

“I hold no brief for Haqqani, he is now an independent scholar and researcher. He is no longer in the PPP and the party has already distanced itself from him. I also do not agree with many of his views but I cannot allow this tirade against Asif Zardari,” he declared.

He said that visas were issued after following a laid down procedure not by Zardari or Gilani, adding this question must also have been addressed by the Abbottabad Commission so why not make the Commission report public to resolve once and for all to how and who issued visas.

Babar noted it was not uncommon for former ambassadors, presidents, prime ministers, spokespersons and public officials writing books and articles which may not be the official line but no fuss is created and gave the example of Advisor Sartaj Aziz who was present in the House.

In his book "Between Dreams and Realities", Sartaj Aziz has said that the regular Pakistani army crossed the Line of Control during the Kargil war and that he and the civil government were not taken into confidence at that time," he said.

“Aziz had also written that critical areas of foreign policy including India, Kashmir, Afghanistan and nuclear the policy was framed somewhere else and not in the Foreign Office…shall we declare him a traitor”, he questioned.

Another PPP Senator Saeed Ghani said that the people, who helped Osama take shelter in Pakistan, should also be identified. “We are proud as we helped in killing OBL as he was a terrorist,” he asserted.

Other senators belonging to both opposition and treasury demanded formation of a parliamentary committee to probe into claims made by Haqqani, saying there should be no compromise on matters of national security.