KARACHI: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has lodged a “first information report” against a former Pakistan ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, on charges of embezzlement and misuse of authority.
The report, filed after an FIA corruption inquiry, alleges that the offenses took place from 2008 to 2011 when Haqqani was Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington.
According to some reports, the FIA is in the process of issuing red warrants against Husain Haqqani.
Bashir Memon, director general of the FIA, refused to comment when contacted by Arab News.
On Feb. 15, Memon told Pakistan’s Supreme Court that a request had been sent to Interpol for red warrants for the former ambassador.
Haqqani said the new charges against him “will go nowhere.”
“False charges have been filed in Pakistan against me six years after my resignation. These charges have been manufactured after Interpol turned down an earlier request by the FIA,” he told Arab News.
“Their purpose is just to meet Interpol’s criteria for warrants because Interpol does not get involved in political cases.”
Legal expert Hassan Sabir said the first information report is significant, but will remain symbolic until Pakistan signs an extradition treaty with the US.
“This is an important development, but Haqqani can be indicted only once he comes to Pakistan,” Sabir said.
Murtaza Solangi, senior analyst and a former director general of state-run Radio Pakistan, said the report was an attempt to embarrass Haqqani.
“It has only limited propaganda value in Pakistan. In the world of realpolitik, it does not change anything. Unless Haqqani voluntarily returns to Pakistan, nothing will happen to him,” Solangi said.
In 2011, Haqqani was implicated in the “Memogate” case when Pakistani-American financier Mansoor Ijaz was revealed to have delivered a memo from the ambassador to Adm. Mike Mullen, then chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, offering greater government cooperation in return for US backing for Pakistan’s security establishment.
“I intend to carry on my life and let the FIA and the hidden hands behind it figure out how to fulfil their fantasy of forcing my return to Pakistan on false charges,” Haqqani said.
Pakistan launches fraud case against former envoy
Pakistan launches fraud case against former envoy
Pakistan PM invites UAE investment across tech and resource sectors at National Day event
- Shehbaz Sharif says the UAE remains a key economic partner and continues to lend ‘critical support’ to Pakistan
- UAE envoy says both nations have potential for cooperation in renewable energy, AI and economic diversification
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is ready to welcome investment from the United Arab Emirates across emerging technologies and resource sectors, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday, as both countries marked the 54th National Day of the Gulf country in Islamabad.
Speaking at the ceremony attended by senior ministers, diplomats and business leaders, Sharif said the UAE remained a key economic partner for Pakistan and continued to lend “critical support” to the country’s stabilizing economy.
“Pakistan takes great pride in its strategic partnership with the UAE, which continues to deepen across every domain of life,” he said. “With Pakistan’s economy stabilizing, we stand ready to welcome Emirati investment in renewable energy, AI, fintech, agriculture and minerals.”
Sharif praised the UAE’s leadership and recalled his earliest memories of the Gulf nation as “a land that believed in possibilities long before they became realities,” saying the country’s progress under President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan commanded “profound admiration.”
UAE Ambassador Salem Al Bawab Al Zaabi said the Emirates was committed to strengthening ties with Pakistan in areas including the economy, energy and artificial intelligence.
He said the two countries shared a “deep-rooted friendship built on mutual respect, shared values and a common vision for regional peace and development.”
“We see tremendous potential for collaboration in renewable energy, artificial intelligence, sustainability and economic diversification,” the ambassador said, adding that the UAE aimed to broaden the scope of its economic relations with Pakistan.
The UAE hosts around 1.8 million Pakistani expatriates, one of the country’s largest overseas communities, who Sharif said contributed “tirelessly” to the Gulf state’s development.
Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also joined the UAE ambassador in a cake-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion.
