Memo report says Haqqani feared arrest in US

http://images.thenews.com.pk/19-06-2012/ethenews/t-15468.htm

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

ISLAMABAD: The Memogate Commission report has made a stunning revelation, which has gone unnoticed so far, wherein it states that former ambassador Husain Haqqani “may have feared to be prosecuted, arrested and convicted in America, diplomatic immunity notwithstanding.”

This opinion of the commission is contained on Page 89 of its report and concerns the secret fund given to the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.The three respected members of the commission wrote: “Mr. Haqqani’s failure to disclose any payment [utilisation of the SSF (Secret Service Fund)] was telling.

During his tenure as ambassador to USA, he received US$2 million [$2,000,000] annually four times, i.e. a total of US$ 8 million [$8,000,000], but refused to submit any information with regard to the utilisation thereof for the reason (according to him [Haqqani]) that the SSF rules did not permit disclosure and because: ‘they [secret funds] are also used for payments that involve circumvention of strict US laws...”

This admission that these funds are used in violation of US laws is the key fact which can trigger an intense investigation by the US authorities and could lead to questioning and probe of Haqqani, as he no longer enjoys diplomatic immunity, a known lawyer who knows the US system told The News on condition of not giving his name.

The report also quoted Haqqani telling the Commission in the same context: “The commission may be familiar with the case of Kashmir American Council (KAC) official Ghulam Nabi Fai, who has been imprisoned in the US for accepting secret funds from the ISI. Any revelation ... would have similar adverse implications...”

FBI arrested Fai for receiving funds allegedly from ISI. He pleaded guilty in a US court and is now serving jail sentence.The report commented on the statements of Husain Haqqani in these words: ‘In other words Mr. Haqqani may have feared to be prosecuted, arrested and convicted in America, diplomatic immunity notwithstanding.”

The report also reveals that a lot more money was given to the Pakistan Embassy than had earlier been speculated. Eight million dollars is a huge amount, not given to any embassy of Pakistan anywhere.

The report also stated: “The grant of secret funds for the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC was in apparent violation of Article 84 of the Constitution of Pakistan [that governs supplementary or excess grants such as SSF represented].”

The senior lawyer said such a big amount, more than double of what is involved in Dr Arsalan Chaudhry case, was not authorised by Parliament and a probe has to be carried out to determine who gave the go ahead for such huge funds to be dispersed secretly in America. He asked whether these funds were used to circumvent the US law Foreign Agent’s Registration Act, by making illegal payments to those who appeared independent on the surface but were being paid under the table? Did American politicians receive illegal donations from Pakistani-Americans who in turn were pocketing cash withdrawn surreptitiously in increments of just under $10,000 per withdrawal from the National Bank of Pakistan in Washington DC?