FIA seeks perpetual arrest warrants for former envoy Husain Haqqani

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has sought perpetual arrest warrants for Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, after the Supreme Court gave directions to bring him back to the country.
However, the former envoy told Arab News on Saturday he was not likely to come back to Pakistan.
“I intend to carry on my life and let FIA and the hidden hands behind it figure out how to fulfill their fantasy of forcing my return to Pakistan on false charges,” he said in response to a query.
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Haqqani and gave the authorities a 30-day deadline to present him before the court after he failed to appear in the Memogate case despite repeated summons.
The FIA’s standard procedure requires relevant documents and an arrest warrant issued by the court to get red warrants from Interpol, said a senior FIA official.
The FIA director general is heading to Interpol headquarters in Paris where he will attend a high-level conference and try to obtain the red warrants for Haqqani.
“In addition to participating in the conference as a member of Interpol, DG FIA Bashir Memon will also try to obtain red warrants for Mr. Haqqani to bring him back to the country,” said the official, adding that the DG would later travel to the US in connection with the case.
He said the DG FIA has assured the Supreme Court that a case would be registered against Haqqani in the US if he refused to return to Pakistan. Haqqani’s wife is a US national, so he could be holding American nationality as well, which may hamper his extradition, the official said.
However, Haqqani sharply responded to these developments when contacted by Arab News. “This case will go nowhere, not only because it is without basis but also because Pakistan’s politicized judiciary and law enforcement have no respect or influence left outside Pakistan and their actions are obviously politically motivated, without legal or moral grounds,” he said.
He added: “The bad faith of Pakistan’s Supreme Court and state institutions is evident from the fact that they have painted me as a traitor for six and a half years without filing charges. The Supreme Court did not even hold hearings of the so-called Memogate case for six and a half years under four different chief justices.”