May 2 raid: Abbottabad panel to quiz Haqqani on Dec 14

Husain Haqqani was Pakistan's ambassador to US when American troops raided bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad.


Express November 28, 2011

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry commission on the May 2 US raid in Abbottabad will interview Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani on December 14, officials said.

Haqqani was Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States when the US Navy SEALs stormed into Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad and killed the former al Qaeda chief. The episode was termed a unilateral operation on Pakistani soil which heightened tensions between Islamabad and Washington.

Haqqani, who recently resigned from his post as ambassador to the US in the wake of the Memogate controversy, will give a presentation to the commission regarding the situation that ensued in Washington after the raid. The commission will be headed by Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal. The inquiry commission will go through laws, which Washington and Islamabad have quoted, to justify or oppose the May 2 incursion. The commission will also interview Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Khawaja Muhammad Asif and President National Defence University, Islamabad Lieutenant General Agha Muhammad Umer Farooq the same day.

The commission is preparing its report on the May 2 incident. Other members of the commission, former Inspector General Police Abbas Khan, former diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi and Lt General (retd) Nadeem Ahmed will also attend the meeting which will be held at the Cabinet Division.

Earlier, the commission recorded the statements of the military lands director and the director of Save the Children foundation.

Former director general Intelligence Bureau, chairman National Database and Registration Authority, advocate Ahmer Bilal Soofi and an explosives expert also gave a presentation to the members of the commission.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2011.

COMMENTS (6)

AnisAqeel | 12 years ago | Reply

@Shaan: @Mirza: This is not about memogate, it is concerning the open secrets of protecting terrorists and bringing the whole nation to its knees and it is making Pakistan as a third class beggar that depends on alms only. The protectors of terrorists and bringing the whole nation to denial stages have caused us bitterly and to the max of degradation. This protection of terrorism and denial has caused us another Bangladesh in making, although there is denial on this one too. Lets assume memogate is real (in my opinion, it's credible) and see actually who was the cause of it. Are we considering treason by some powerful as legitimate and protecting from treason by weaker is illegitimate. When we say truth, bring all the truth related to the subject on this table. Unless the most powerful are considered equally in this case, we will be cutting our second arm by ourselves (one arm we have already cut ourselves).

Mirza | 12 years ago | Reply

@AnisAqeel: @Shaan: According to the US media when on May 2nd Obama called Pakistani president (I forgot whether he called the PM also) the experts analyzed the conversation and concluded that the Pakistani civilian govt did not know about OBL's presence in Abbottabad. Actually this has been the bone of contention for the army generals that the elected govt came out as innocent and they were held responsible by the world. Regards, Mirza

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