PAK301 GDB
The memo gate controversy (also Mullen memo controversy) revolves around a memorandum (addressed to Admiral Mike Mullen) seeking help of the Obama administration in the wake of the Osama bin Laden raid to avert a military takeover of the civilian government in Pakistan and conversely to assist in a civilian takeover of the military apparatus . Central actors in the plot included American-Pakistani businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who alleged that former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani asked him to deliver a confidential memo asking for US assistance. The memo is alleged to have been drafted by Haqqani at the behest of President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has opened a broader inquiry into the origins, credibility and purpose of the memo.
OFTEN during Pakistan's turbulent history has the army's 111th Brigade swept out of its headquarters in Rawalpindi, scooted to Islamabad 20 minutes away, and effortlessly taken over the government. These days, under General Ashfaq Kayani, the soldiers know it is wiser to rule from behind the scenes, with a weak civilian government taking the blame for the country's problems. On November 22nd the army heaped humiliation on the government, pressing it to jettison Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, a smooth operator, over allegations that he crafted an offer to rein in the Pakistani army and its spy agency in return for American help in averting a feared coup.
The offer to the American administration was made in an unsigned memo, which Mr Haqqani denies writing. It was sent to America's military high command in May, during a time when relations were febrile following the killing in Pakistan by American special forces of Osama bin Laden. The memo's existence was revealed only in October, by the controversial American businessman of Pakistani origin who delivered it. It was supposedly composed on theinstructions of Mr Haqqani acting on behalf of President Asif Zardari. The incendiary document proposed that government would dismantle the wing of the army's Inter-Services Intelligence responsible for dealing with the Taliban, in return for American support.
Though the bin Laden raid was a huge embarrassment to the army, the "memogate" scandal showed again that real power in Pakistan still lies with the soldiers. No evidence pins the memo to Mr Zardari. Its recipient, Admiral Mike Mullen, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he did not take it seriously. The army and the friendly television stations it whipped up forced Mr Haqqani's exit before an investigation into the matter had even begun.
Mr Haqqani had once written a book detailing the links between the army and jihadists. In America his connections ensured a direct line to top decision-makers. The armed forces had never liked having the country's most important relationship entrusted to him.
The government has saved a little face by appointing Sherry Rehman to succeed Mr Haqqani as ambassador in Washington. She is a rare politician of substance in the ruling Pakistan People's Party. She has a record as a campaigner for human rights. And she supports the government's welcome attempts to improve ties with India, the army's eternal enemy. Yet the soldiers do not seem to mind her. She argues for more American understanding of army views that, she says, are shaped more by fears about a dangerous region than by self-serving ambition. The 111th can stand easy for now.
Memo Gate scandal is on the front page headlines of the Pakistani newspapers since couple of weeks. Memo gate scandal in Pakistan refers to the alleged letter send to the American high command by Pakistani Ambassador in America – Hussain Haqqani, who has attained popularity as an American Envoy in America, who is getting all the privilege from Pakistan. Hussain Haqqani is known for protecting the contingent interests of American in Pakistan by issuing Visas to Ramond Davis like CIA Agents and using other tactics to destabilize Pakistan. Anyhow, now Hussain Haqqani has resigned and Government has ensured the parliament to constitute a committee to investigate this Memo Gate Scandal. No double the Government will try its level best to protect Hussain Haqqani, who was enjoying the most privileged government seat after Prime Minister-ship, as is said by some Senior Journalists. The Government will scarifies Hussain Haqqani only when their own government will be at stake. Memo Gate scandal is in fact the toughest challenge ever faced by the Government of Pakistan which has earned the reputation of the most corrupt government ever in the history of Pakistan.
The Opposition has also gone in Supreme Court for constitution of Judiciary Committee to probe the matter of Memo Gate. In the letter, which is referred as Memo Gate Scandal, refuge of America was sought by the Civil Government against the Military Establishment of Pakistan and in turn, the Government of Pakistan ensured the US Government to allow them whatever they want. They would have more liberty to act. More than what they are enjoying now. They would have access to the nuclear installations of Pakistan and so on. Anyhow, what does Memo Gate Scandal means and why the letter sent by Hussain Haqqani is named as Memo Gate Scandal?, are the questions, answer of which very few knows.The Term Memo gate Scandal was first used in respect of documents claimed by the CBS to be related to President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard in 1972–73. These documents were critical for the upcoming elections in George W.
Bush was also a candidate. However, CBS could not produce sanctity of these documents.
In this context, could it be possible that the letter written to the Americans by Hussain Haqqani could be proved as forged or at least the prosecution would not be able to prove that the documents were from Hussain Haqqani. However, one should be forget that in the George W. Bush's Memo Gate Scandal all the documents related to 1972- 73 and, reportedly, the original documents were burnt. However, in the case of Hussain Haqqan all the data of Black Berries and Laptop of Hussain Haqqani and Mansoor Ijaz could be traced in minutes and reported has been traced by Pakistani Agencies. Hence, if it is actually done, there could hardly be any chances of escape for Hussain Haqanni.
Since few days, another controversy arose in Pakistan when the Army Chief Gen Kayani held an emergency meeting with the President Zardari and the Prime Minister Gilani asking them to sack their envoy in the United States Mr Husain Haqqani.
The issue was that a memorandum was leaked by one Mansoor Ijaz, an America based Pakistani businessman, who told the Financial Times that he had been asked to deliver the message by Husain Haqqani. Mr Ijaz explicitly told that:
'Husain Haqqani, whom I have known for over 10 years, asked me to assist him in privately delivering his message to Admiral Mike Mullen. Phone and email contacts between me and Mr Haqqani in May are available with me as we finalized draft of the memorandum and awaited the boss's approval. The boss was obviously the President Zardari, I believed'.
The memo was taken as an indirect request from President Zardari to Admiral Mike Mullen for conveying a 'strong, urgent and direct message to Gen Kayani' demanding the two Generals to shun the ideas of sending PPP home. The memo was allegedly delivered to Mullen a week after the Osama's raid of 2nd May 2011 and was reportedly sponsored by President Zardari who at that time feared a military takeover in Pakistan. The memo contained that:
'Pakistan may become a sanctuary for Osama's legacy and potentially the platform for far more rapid spread of al Qaeda's brand of fanaticism and terror.
That an opportunity also exists for civilians to gain upper hand over the army and intelligence directorates due to their complicity in the Osama bin Laden matter.
That in the event of Washington's message to Gen Kayani, the new national security team is prepared to do the following:
ü An independent inquiry into the Bin Laden's stay will be ordered
ü The inquiry will be independent and accountable
ü The new team will implement the policy of either handing over those left in al Qaeda leadership or other affiliated groups on Pakistan soil. The team also gives the US military "green light" to conduct necessary operations to capture or kill them on Pakistani soil.
ü The new national security team is prepared, with full backing of the Pakistani government, to develop an acceptable framework of discipline for the nuclear program.
ü The new team will eliminate Section S of the ISI allegedly charged with maintaining relations to the Taliban and Haqqani network
ü Government of Pakistan will cooperate with new national security team and Indian government to bring perpetrators of Pakistani origin to account for Mumbai attacks 2008, whether outside or inside the government, including its intelligence agencies.
Mr Haqqani, however, claimed that allegations made by Mansoor Ijaz were baseless but at the same time offered to resign over the scandal.
Hours after Mr Haqqani offered to resign, the representative of Mike Mullen, Captain John Carbie, while talking to an American journal 'Foreign Policy', told that Mike Mullen recalled his memory and had investigated from the concerned people and confirmed that he had provided a copy of the secret memo but he had not concentrated on that memo considering it as not trustable. It was taken as another insult of Pakistan as US officials had not considered a letter from Pakistan worth attention.
South Asian News Agency (SANA)'s report of 18th November 2011, referring to the former US Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen, also confirmed that he had received a secret memo from Pakistani born businessmen Mansoor Ejaz. Previously the Admiral had denied remembering the receiving of any such letter.
senior Pakistani diplomat telephoned him in May, soon after Bin Laden's death, urging him to deliver a message to the White House bypassing Pakistan's military and intelligence chiefs. The president feared a military takeover was imminent and needed an American fist on his army chief's desk to end any misguided notions of a coup and fast.
A memo was delivered to Mullen on May 10, offering that a "new national security team" would end relations between Pakistani intelligence and Afghan militants, namely the Taliban and its Haqqani faction.'
The above details apparently made sure that President Zardari had yelled before Obama administration and the people of Pakistan were kept in dark. PPP's Fauzia Wahab said President Zardari had written no secret letter and raising such an issue was to damage unity of the country; adding that 'Mansoor Ijaz is neither a diplomat nor part of Pakistani foreign ministry or the government. The issue of letter is nothing but a plot aiming at destruction of our unity'.
In this context an information given by one Wajid Ali Syed published in 'The News International' dated 19th November 2011 should be kept in mind while referring to Mansoor Ijaz's phone records of calls made to and received, allegedly, from Husain Haqqani and his US contact between 9-10th May 2011, when the controversial memo was prepared and sent. Mansoor Ijaz told that:
'I presented my original telephone company records to the senior Pakistani official whom I met to verify and validate the evidence in my possession. I asked him (the official) to independently verify and check that the numbers of the individuals concerned were in fact their telephone numbers. I further asked him to put the calls in sequence with both e-mail and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) messages that had been sent to the ambassador and my US contact so that he could develop a comprehensive picture of the entire set of events.
The data was transferred to his (the official's) secure e-mail address directly from my computer, and he verified in front of me that the original telephone bills and original e-mail and BBM traffic were authentic and forensically unaltered.'
The US businessman Mansoor Ijaz had also recalled a Blackberry Message conversation in which Mr Haqqani had stated that: 'you can keep saying you delivered a message and show BBM conversations to prove it... Basically, you don't get it.'
Mr Haqqani, however, contended again that the said phone calls and BBM record was fake, whereas on 11th November 2011, he had lastly communicated with Mansoor Ijaz saying that: 'I have just changed BBs...I may never trust you or your judgment again...'
Mr Zardari summoned Mr Haqqani, Pakistan's Ambassador in Washington, to Islamabad to solve the enigma and move toward some solution. However, Mr Haqqani in an interview with a US journal refused the sending of memo to any and wrote a letter to President Zardari in this regard in which he offered his resignation. Mr Haqqani was blamed to play a key role in the letter's issue; afterwards he reached Islamabad on 19th November 2011.
The contents of the said letter comprised of material against the army chief and ISI which echoed in the National Assembly as President Zardari was made target of severe criticism by opposition. Mansoor Ijaz had claimed that President Zardari had sought Washington's help for removing the army chief and the ISI boss and had assured the Obama administration that he would cut all ties to militant groups if it assisted him to do so. The issue of the letter not only turned into a hot topic in the parliament and political circles but also created rift between the government and army.
In fact, Husain Haqqani has once again proved that he is an American loyalist and does not have love or respect for Pakistan. He had earlier inserted anti-military clauses in the Kerry Lugar Bill. Even the media-men considered him a traitor of Pakistan by his deeds and actions; thus demanded to be publicly hanged to give a strong lesson to all those conspiring against Pakistan.
The above memo, if true, certainly told one thing that Pakistani politicians always sought aid from the US to help them out when they feared of losing their power. Benazir Bhutto did so, Nawaz Sharif did so, Musharraf did it and then Zaradri was sailing in the same boat. It would never change until Pakistani people revolutionize themselves to show respect for rule of law.
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court (SC) on 19th November 2011 requesting it to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the authenticity of the said secret memo raising questions against Pakistani armed forces. The petition was filed in the SC Lahore registry by one Hashim Shaukat Khan (President of the Watan Party) and Barrister Zafar Ullah Khan.
The petition said that 'Mansoor Ijaz is a dodgy person, a US national who acted as an agent for Americans, and that the memo seems like an attempt to create differences between various institutions of Pakistan trying to label them as corrupt and unreliable. Thus it becomes necessary to investigate the issue as it targets the Pakistan army and may lead to further tensions in the civil-military relationship in the country.'
The Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik had, however, admitted that Husain Haqqani was involved in communication via text messages with an American national but there was no written letter, neither from presidency nor from any government organization. Haqqani is a close aide of President Zardari, no doubt. Mr Malik told that:
'This is communication through SMS (text messages) by two individuals. One is an American national and second is our ambassador. The evidence available was an exchange of SMS messages and Blackberry messages and we have to see that who initiated these. It is clear that it [the matter] is open for investigation'.
Over an uncalled but such a harmful deliberation from Rehman Malik, a media spokesman had rightly observed that 'the GOP and Mr Haqqani do not need enemies if such friends are available to them.'
The opposition leader Nawaz Sharif demanded an independent commission to investigate the issue roaring that why that is the government should be subjected to benefit of doubt despite mounting evidence against it but the army is subjected to the worst suspicions simply on the basis of a NYT article or a statement by an American official? You do realize the memo has been confirmed and declared authentic by Mullen's own office; so why the double standards? Selling out the whole country and asking for foreign interference worth for the sake of democracy?
[Nawaz Sharif, was not inclined to recall his own times of 1999 when on Kargill issue he himself had flown overnight to the United States to request President Bill Clinton for direct interference in Pakistan affairs; urging to snub the then Army Chief Gen Musharraf who had played around allegedly without his consent as prime minister.]
One may recall a statement of US Attorney General and some legislators when it was said that Pakistanis [normally may] sell their souls for money and power. It was another instance of selling one's soul to stay in power. What credibility does Pakistan's political leadership possess? It was sad that PPP politicians talked big about solving critical issues but failed to solve simple mysteries despite being in power for nearly four years; murder of Benazir Bhutto, NICL scam, Haj scam, energy crisis, Railways, Steel Mills and PIA affairs, what not to mention.
A script from one Ali Siddiqui was available on internet dated 19th Nov 2011 that:
'An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one-question final exam after a semester dealing with a broad array of topics.
The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on top of his desk and wrote on the board:
"Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."
Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair.
One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute!
Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an "A" when he had barely written anything at all.
His answer consisted of two words: 'What chair, Sir?'
The same approach was adopted by PPP when asked by the reporters in a recent Press Conference about the rampant corruption in Pakistan. PPP spokesman replied in one voice; what corruption?
Now Husain Haqqani would say: which memo?
Coming back and referring to the masses in Balochistan and in Khyber PK provinces, the successive governments have done nothing. Yes, they have helped in increasing the polarisation among institutions, from armed forces to the courts, created more wealth for them own by desecrating Pakistan's name through their greed for the sake of staying in Power; shame on both the political leaderships.
In short, the PPP government seems to be failed in delivering the expected results. May be the people and establishment want that they should quit now but the case in sight may not be the proper way to send them home. Let us stick to truthful principles and not to playing old tricks of Ghulam Ishaque Khan. At present, the questions are:
- Why Mansoor Ijaz did leak the memo and wrote the article for press?
- As Ambassador Mr Haqqani had direct access to highest civil authority in USA so why would he chose a betraying businessman?
- Mansoor Ijaz is known to Mr Haqqani since ten years; what was his past behaviour.
- What has been the actual bone of contention between Mansoor Ijaz & Mr Haqqani while they were associates since a decade?
- SMS record of calling each other is OK but what were the actual transcripts of those conversations; did it contain the memo's wording or substance.
- How and what stage Mr Zardari allegedly conveyed such instructions to Mr Haqqani.
- Why would Mr Haqqani send the memo to Mike Mullen, a person who was retiring shortly and himself an Army General?
- Why would Mr Zardari as President go through some one else in such delicate matter, he could have gone to USA on any pretext to see some more relevant tycoon in US admin?
- Why Mr Zardari had not preferred to call the American Ambassador in presidency to convey that much weighty message directly to the American bosses?
There may be tens of more questions to add. PPP government or Mr Zardari may be found guilty but an investigation by a reputed but retired judge would be more feasible.
The entire episode is being projected with some prime motive and only time would tell whose game plan is this; Army or Civil. Be cool my countrymen.
Dear students,
All the students are informed that they will post their comments on GDB link. Comments for GDB sent via email or posted on regular MDB will not be accepted.
GDB for PAK301 will be opened on January 30, 2012 and will remain open till January 31, 2012. The topic of this GMDB will be,
"What do you know about the "Memo gate" Scandal in Pakistan"?
Post your comments after inferring the above topic. Your comments should NOT exceed from 100 to 120 words.
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