NewsMarch 24 , 2017
Husain Haqqani visa scandal: PPP sees ‘political’ agenda behind letter
ISLAMABAD: The spokesperson to former President Asif Zardari, Farhatullah Babar, on Friday denied media reports that PPP leadership allowed Husain Hqqani to issue visas to Americans without due process and bypassing relevant authorities.The PPP is in hot waters since ex-Pakistan ambassador to US, Husain Haqqani claimed in a Washington Post column that he helped American forces trace Osama Bin Laden and that the civilian leadership was aware of all the related developments.
Explaining party position after a letter circulating in the media suggested that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in 2010 had empowered the envoy to directly issue visas to Americans without approval of concerned officials. There was ‘nothing new or wrong’ in the letter sent to the Embassy in Washington, he asserted.
In the statement, Babar said the timing of the letter 'leaking' to media was suspect.
‘Its [the official letter's] regurgitation at this time is politically motivated and aimed at diverting attention from the real issue,’ Babar said, adding that ‘the purpose was to expedite, not bypass, the process.
Embassies in important capitals have representatives of relevant government departments, including security agencies, he explained. ‘The ambassador was empowered by the prime minister to issue visas, but that does not mean that due process within the embassy, involving representatives of other departments, was allowed to be circumvented.’
According to the letter, ‘leaked’ to media and signed by Gilani's Principal Secretary Nargis Sethi, ‘The Ambassador in Washington is empowered to issue visas valid up to one year without the Embassy having to refer each such aforementioned visa application to the concerned authorities in Pakistan.’
‘The ambassador in Washington is empowered to issue entry visas for restricted periods to US officials who have been recommended in writing by the concerned US authorities, i.e. the Department of State and whose duly completed application forms, it is clearly indicated for what purposes they intend to travel to Pakistan,’ the letter reads.
"It [the letter] was also not an authorisation to issue visas to US Special Operation Forces," Babar said.
Targeting the then military establishment, Babar said, ‘the central question is not who, following due process, gave visas to some Americans who may have eventually been able to hunt and take Laden out.’
He demanded an inquiry into Pakistan's visa issuance policies and procedures across the board from 2001 onward.
"Targeting some individuals or a political government for political purposes will not advance national security interests," he said.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk
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