Husain Haqqani says his stand vindicated

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani on Friday claimed that CIA contractor Raymond Davis’ book has vindicated his stance that he always acted in accordance with the policy determined by Islamabad.

In his memoir titled The Contractor: “How I Landed in a Pakistani Prison and Ignited a Diplomatic Crisis”, Raymond Davis said Haqqani was generally viewed in Washington as being pro-American but he wasn’t so accommodating in securing his release.

“Working on the problem from the opposite side of the table, US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta sat down with Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, on February 21 and asked for his assistance in getting me out of jail. Haqqani was largely viewed as being pro-American, but in this instance, he wasn’t so accommodating,” Davis wrote in the book.

Responding to a query by The News on the issue, Haqqani said his detractors should stop propaganda against him.

"Mr Davis' account only confirms my longstanding position that, as ambassador, I always acted in accordance with the policy on US-Pakistan relations determined in Islamabad by the civilian and military leadership,” he said. “It is time for my detractors to stop their malicious propaganda against me and try to understand the underlying issues."

However, Davis did mention that Haqqani had easily approved his visa with countless others.

“Encouraged by the Pakistani government in Islamabad to take a relaxed stance when granting visas to American officials, Haqqani had approved mine and countless others,” Davis wrote.

He said getting a visa had been just as easy as it had always been. “For a US government official or contractor to get a visa into Pakistan, the request only had to be approved by Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, who had lived in the United States since 2002 and was generally viewed as being pro-American.”