Pakistan's Memogate Scandal has reverberations in U.S.

Muslim Americans ask Clinton to ensure justice for Ambassador Husain Haqqani

WASHINGTON, DC (January 13, 2012)- AILC has joined a group of prominent American Muslims that has appealed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her and President Obama to intervene in the matter of the former Pakistan Ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani who is under house arrest in Pakistan and expressed a fear for his life.

The letter signed by among others, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser and author Irshad Manji, asked Clinton to "let Pakistan's military chief General Kayani and ISI boss General Pasha know that they will be held responsible for any harm that comes to Ambassador Haqqani."

Ambassador Haqqani's travails began after it was alleged that he had initiated a letter to the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, following the US military action inside Pakistan in which Osama Bin Laden was killed. The letter reportedly asked for American intervention in Pakistan in order to forestall a military coup.

Ambassador Haqqani vehemently denied these allegations, yet honorably offered to resign his position and return to Pakistan to clear his name and answer any questions. He acted in good faith, but Pakistan's military-judicial establishment and the country's anti-American media have "convicted him" in the court of public opinion, without the benefit of any criminal charges.

In the letter to Mrs. Clinton the American and Canadian Muslim leaders also asked for the safety of Ambassador Haqqani's wife. The letter said, "We also ask you to ensure the safety of Ambassador Haqqani's wife, currently in the US. She is constantly followed by ISI agents working inside America. She should have the ability to live here free from intimidation and threats."

"We American and Canadian Muslims have watched with increasing anxiety the situation of the former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani. Motivated by our deep concern for the life and safety of Ambassador Haqqani we write to you to ask you to speak on his behalf. Ambassador Haqqani is living under virtual house arrest in Pakistan. Pakistan's security agencies confiscated his passport and the judiciary, under pressure from the military, has restricted him from travelling outside Pakistan," the letter added.

The signatories of the letter to Mrs. Clinton said, "... Ambassador Haqqani ... represented moderate Islamic values and was vocal in his opposition to radical elements in Islam, which was a source of pride for moderate Muslims in North America. During his stay in the United States, Ambassador Haqqani was an effective, intelligent and articulate refutation of all the negative stereotypes associated with the Islamist leadership inside America."

About the American Islamic Leadership Coalition (AILC)

The American Islamic Leadership Coalition (AILC) is a diverse coalition of liberty-minded, North American Muslim leaders and organizations. AILC's mission advocates for defending the US Constitution, upholding religious pluralism, protecting American security and cherishing genuine diversity in the faith and practice of Islam. AILC provides a stark alternative to the Islamist organizations that claim to speak for what are diverse American Muslim communities. For more information on AILC, please visit our website at http://www.americanislamicleadership.org/.

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Click here for PDF version of letter sent to Secretary of State Clinton

January 12, 2012

The Secretary of State

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street, NW

Washington, DC 20520

Dear Madame Secretary:

We American and Canadian Muslims have watched with increasing anxiety the situation of the former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani. Motivated by our deep concern for the life and safety of Ambassador Haqqani we write to you to ask you to speak on his behalf. Ambassador Haqqani is living under virtual house arrest in Pakistan. Pakistan's security agencies confiscated his passport and the judiciary, under pressure from the military, has restricted him from travelling outside Pakistan.

Ambassador Haqqani's travails began after it was alleged that he had initiated a letter to the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, following the US military action inside Pakistan in which Osama Bin Laden was killed. The letter reportedly asked for American intervention in Pakistan in order to forestall a military coup.

Ambassador Haqqani vehemently denies these allegations, yet honorably offered to resign his position and return to Pakistan to clear his name and answer any questions. He acted in good faith, but Pakistan's military-judicial establishment and the country's anti-American media have "convicted him" in the court of public opinion, without the benefit of any criminal charges.

Ambassador Haqqani's return to Pakistan is a mark of a man of character who had faith in his government's legal protections. Had there been any guilt on his part, he would have never returned. He believed his faith would sustain him and therefor put his life on the line.

Pakistan's Supreme Court, rather than asserting the law of the land and its responsibility as the court of last resort, has instead become a "kangaroo court", trampling over Ambassador Haqqani's fundamental legal and human rights. It has forced his counsel, former UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Ms. Asma Jahangir to withdraw her representation of Ambassador Haqqani, citing her lack of confidence in the judicial commission.

As a number of U.S. scholars have written to you: "The case against Haqqani follows an ominous trend in Pakistan. The assassinations of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, and journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad this past year have created a culture of intimidation and fear that is stifling efforts to promote a more tolerant and democratic society. Significant segments of the Pakistani media have already judged Haqqani to be guilty of treason, which could inspire religious extremists to take the law into their own hands as they did with Taseer and Bhatti."

As North American Muslim leaders, we highly regard Ambassador Haqqani as not only the Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., but also because he has always represented moderate Islamic values and has been vocal in his opposition to radical elements in Islam. He is a source of pride for moderate Muslims in North America.

During his stay in the United States, Ambassador Haqqani was an effective, intelligent and articulate refutation of all the negative stereotypes of Muslims created by the Islamist leadership inside America. Ambassador Haqqani and his family have deep roots within the United States and is well known by many of us in the leadership role he played nationally while serving as a professor at Boston University prior to his return to his motherland of Pakistan.

Ambassador Haqqani has told the London Telegraph that his life is threatened by jihadi terrorists as well as those elements within Pakistan's military establishment which have been instrumental in effectuating the assassinations of many leading politicians and journalists-which, in the words of Journalists without Borders, makes Pakistan the most dangerous place on earth.

We sincerely appeal to you and to President Barack Obama to intervene. Please let Pakistan's military chief General Kayani and ISI boss General Pasha know that they will be held responsible for any harm that comes to Ambassador Haqqani.

We also ask you to ensure the safety of Ambassador Haqqani's wife, currently in the US. She is constantly followed by ISI agents working inside America. She should have the ability to live here free from intimidation and threats

With High Regards,

Washington, DC

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