Embassy acted fully as per directions from Foreign Ministry after Abbottabad incident : Haqqani

Haqqani stated this during his rambling statement before the Inquiry Commission which is probing the incident of American raid of May 2 at Abbottabad compound with the former Ambassador mostly repeating the already pulished reports regarding his activities in the aftermath of the incident.

He deposed that he himself and the embassy acted fully in accordance with directions received from Foreign Ministry.

Former Senior Judge of Supreme Court and President of the Commission, Justice Javed Iqbal, chaired the meeting of the Inquiry Commission.

Former Ambassador, who was summoned by the Commission said he was on his way to Islamabad via London and Dubai when the operation took place and he first found out about it upon landing at Heathrow airport in the early morning of May 2.

He said he was instructed to immediately turn around, which he did, and returned to Washington by around 5.00 p.m local time.

Husain Haqqani said he was serving as Pakistan's ambassador to the US when the Abbottabad incident took place and his instructions were to ensure that the US government, Congress and media do not blame Pakistan's government, armed forces or intelligence services for allowing Osama bin Laden's presence in the country, as that would have been a violation of UN Security Council resolution 1267 and 1373.

"I was also to protest the violation of Pakistan's sovereignty by US forces in conducting the operation and to point out how that violated the norms of international conduct between two sovereign countries," he added.

Former Ambassador said over the next few days, he faithfully and diligently carried out instructions and met with US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Deputy National Security Adviser of the President of the US to register protest over violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

He said under his instructions, officers of the Embassy met their respective counterpart officials in the US government to do the same.

"I also protested reports in the US media, attributed to US officials and members of Congress, that Pakistan was somehow complicit or responsible in bin Laden's stay in Pakistan," he said, adding that Cypher Telegrams, comprising record of these meetings were sent to the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

He said for their part, the US officials were intransigent and even threatening in their tone, another fact that he informed Islamabad in official communications.

He said they were not only unwilling to apologize for violating Pakistani sovereignty but demanded Pakistan's cooperation in giving access to data and persons found from the house in Abbottabad where the raid was conducted. They also demanded the return of the wreckage of the stealth helicopter that had been damaged and left behind during the operation.

Husain Haqqani said a few days later, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency visited Islamabad for discussions with all branches of the government. During the same time, he (Haqqani) was also asked to be present in Islamabad for consultations.

About the statement issued on May 2 by President of UN Security Council, he said it welcomed end of Osama bin Laden's ability to perpetrate terrorist acts and urged united states to remain vigilant and intensify their efforts in that fight. It also reaffirmed that terrorism could not and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or group.

The Council also expressed its deepest condolences to the victims of terrorism and their families and stressed the need for the full implementation of all its resolutions and statements on terrorism.

He said US officials pointed to UNSC resolutions and this statement by the Security Council's President to justify their unilateral action in Abbottabad in disregard of Pakistani sovereignty.

"I may add that while in Pakistan, violation of our sovereignty was seen as the principal issue, in the US everyone in and out of US government was focused on Osama bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad,' he said.

Husain Haqqani said as such, the task before the Pakistan embassy in Washington was to ensure that the negative mood in the US does not result in aggressive sanctions or restrictions on Pakistan by the US Congress.

He said over the next several days, he appeared on numerous US television and radio programmes, addressed several think tanks and met with dozens of US Congressmen and Senators to give them the Pakistani perspective and to defend our institutions of state against charges of violating UN resolutions and providing sanctuary to the Al-Qaeda leader or turning a blind eye to his presence in the country.

"At the same time, our embassy continued to relay the Pakistani sentiment about US violating our sovereignty and conducting a stealth attack inside our territory," he said.

On the issue of visas for US officials, he said one of the subjects that have received much attention in the Pakistan media is the allegation that somehow the Pakistani embassy in Washington DC gave unauthorized visas to US officials, especially intelligence operatives.

He said different media reports cited different figures ranging from a low of 4000 to a high of 16,000 resulting in an "urban myth".

"Let me state clearly for the record that these wild allegations are totally baseless and refuted completely by the official record," he said and added the embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC never issued unauthorized visas in three years and five months that he served as ambassador.

He said the official record will show that the embassy was very conservative in issuing visas and at one point (from April to June 2010) held back issuing any official visas because clearance from Islamabad had not been received. This created a backlog and also resulted in a political issue with the US government that was resolved by the Prime Minister authorizing the ambassador some discretion in issuing visas vide his letter dated July 14, 2010.

Husain Haqqani said even after issuance of this authorization, the embassy continued to refer visa applications of US officials from military and allied branches to the respective security agencies.

"Only twice did I receive any official communication questioning the issuance of visas," he added.

He said US and Pakistan have a very difficult relationship that has been further complicated by the strong sentiments aroused by violation of Pakistan's sovereignty by the US on May 2 as well as before and after.

He said public opinion in Pakistan is strongly unfavorable towards the US. Similarly, a recent opinion poll shows that 55% of Americans deem Pakistan an enemy, only 7% see us as a friend while 26% did not consider Pakistan a friend or enemy and 12% did not have an opinion.

Former Ambassador said under such circumstances, anyone tasked with the job of representing Pakistan in the US faces a tough and thankless assignment while on the other hand, the conduct of foreign policy and diplomacy cannot be based only on opinion and incorrect information repeated in the media.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011