Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, abruptly quit his post this week amid allegations that he asked Washington for help in reigning in his country’s powerful military.

 

An American businessman of Pakistani origin, Mansoor Ijaz, claims Haqqani asked him to deliver a memo to U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that asked for help heading off a possible military coup against President Asif Ali Zardari. The plot was reportedly brewing after the U.S. pulled off its secret mission that killed Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan.

 

Haqqani is a former journalist and columnist who also taught at Boston University. He had been serving as ambassador to the U.S. since April 2008.

 

Haqqani, a close confidant of Zardari, was replaced by Sherry Rehman, a liberal politician and former journalist known for her human rights work. Rehman is also a member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and, like Haqqani, was close to assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

 

Her selection was considered surprising by observers who had expected Zardari to choose someone more acceptable to the Pakistani military, in light of the memo controversy.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Quits Amid Scandal (by Karin Brulliard, Washington Post)

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Is Forced Out (by Salman Masood, New York Times)

Sherry Rehman, Liberal Lawmaker, Is Pakistan’s New U.S. Envoy (by Karin Brulliard, Washington Post)

Were Pakistani Forces Protecting Osama bin Laden? (by David Wallechinsky, AllGov)