ISLAMABAD – Former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Husain Haqqani has sent a notice to PTI Chairman Imran Khan for accusing him of playing a role in ouster of his government in April last year.
Haqqani has sent the notice to the former premier, who was ousted from the office through a no-confidence vote, through his American attorney Steven Barentzen, stating that a defamation case will be initiated against him if he continues to make statements against him.
In recent days, the PTI chief made several statements against the former envoy. He also alleged that former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and the military intelligence had hired Haqqani to lobby for creating a negative image of him in the US.
Haqqani has debunked all these allegations as false and baseless.
Barentzen has asked Khan to “immediately cease and desist from making false and defamatory statements about Mr. Haqqani, specifically falsely accusing Mr. Haqqani of providing lobbying services to Retired Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in the United States and launching a campaign against you, or taking any other actions to incite or cause your followers to harass Mr. Haqqani or cause him violence.”
“Please be advised that Mr. Haqqani is not, and has never been, a lobbyist for anyone in the U.S. including Pakistan’s current or former army chief. Mr. Haqqani is a scholar who has written extensively on Pakistan’s politics and foreign policy. He is widely respected around the world for his critique of military intervention in Pakistani politics and his writings in favor of constitutional democracy and against Islamist extremism.
“Lobbying for a foreign principal in the US requires registration with the United States Department of Justice, and doing so without such registration is a violation of United States law. Mr. Haqqani had not violated that, or any other law. Moreover, Mr. Haqqani has not accepted compensation from anyone in Pakistan to turn anyone in the United States for, or against, any Pakistani political actor, including you,” reads the letter.
Haqqani said the allegations levelled by Khan were not only false but also dangerous.
“These false and defamatory statements are clearly being made by you, and broadcast and repeated in videos, media interviews, and through mainstream and social media, for the purpose of agitating and riling up your supporters against Mr. Haqqani.”
“This has compromised both his privacy and his personal safety. Your conduct targeting Mr. Haqqani is particularly troubling given that your Pakistani followers have been known to engage in violence and have attacked prominent Pakistanis even outside the country. Mr. Haqqani is already being harassed by your followers on social media and has legitimate concerns about his safety.”
“Please be advised that if you do not immediately cease and desist making false and defamatory statements, and inciting your followers to violence, or much worse if something does happen to Mr. Haqqani, he is prepared without further notice to you to take whatever legal actions are necessary in the appropriate legal forum to not only protect and defend himself, but also to hold you accountable,” the letter added.
