Murkier than ever

The reverberations from former ambassador Husain Haqqani’s opinion-editorial piece in a US newspaper continue to rattle the country even two weeks after its publication. The current leader of the opposition in the National Assembly — who represents the party that appointed Mr Haqqani to the ambassadorial post — was among the first to distance the Pakistan Peoples Party from his admission that he facilitated the US in the deployment of intelligence personnel on Pakistani soil.

Other party leaders stoutly denied the ex-envoy’s claim that the visas were issued to US spies in collaboration with the civilian government of the time. In the murky world of politics, denials are usually gift wrapped admissions of guilt. A document released on Thursday showed that former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani had indeed sanctioned the move, bypassing visa clearance regulations. Earlier in the week, Sartaj Aziz, the current prime minister’s top foreign policy adviser, claimed that the interior ministry had empowered the ex-envoy to issue visas directly to the Americans. Clearly, more pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place.

There is now little point in denying a role in this case of US collaboration — regarded by many populist-minded politicians as a cardinal sin. But with elections barely a year away, the PPP is probably wary of the fallout from such a public confession. Duplicity over this issue and others will not help anyone.

Mr Gillani has already denied the claim that he authorised his government’s nominated ambassador to issue visas to the Americans. But he indicated that Mr Haqqani was conditionally allowed to do so. Only a thorough investigation will uncover the truth. If at some stage the whole affair is laid bare before the public, all those implicated need to understand that their actions were in direct conflict with the law and as such deserve punitive measures. It also isn’t sufficient to claim that the deployment of US intelligence personnel was made in the best interest of the country or those who are close allies of Pakistan. If that was indeed the motive, it surely would have needed broader support or parliamentary consultation at least. There was also no reason to fear that such support would not be forthcoming.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2017.

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