ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator, Farhatullah Babar taking part in the discussion on Hussain Haqqani’s Washington Post article has said that there was no confession and no new revelation in Haqqani’s article. However, a hype had been deliberately created to malign and tarnish image of then President Asif Ali Zardari.
Farhatullah Babar said that this was obvious from the very wording of the motion namely “facilitation of CIA agents to enter Pakistan with the approval of the leadership of the ruling party at the time”.
He said, “I hold no brief for Haqqani, he is now an independent scholar and researcher. He is no longer in the PPP and the Party has already distanced itself from him. I also do not agree with many of his views but I cannot allow this tirade against Asif Zardari.”
But if you seek to malign Zardari by using Haqqani’s or anyone else’ article then ‘jigar thaam ke bheto ke ab meri bari hai’ and show the courage to face facts, he said.
Visas were issued after following a laid down procedure and not by Zardari or Gillani. This question must also have been addressed by the Abbottabad Commission so why not make the Commission report public to resolve once and for all to how and who issued visas, he asked.
But the movers of the motion dare not ask for making the report public because they fear that it might expose some whom they do not wish exposed, he said adding that it is convenient to throw mud on Zardari. He said it was not uncommon for former Ambassadors, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Spokespersons and public official s writing books and articles which may not be the official line but no fuss is created and gave the example of Advisor Sartaj Aziz who was sitting in the House.
In his book “Between Dreams and Realities” Sartaj Aziz has said that the regular Pakistani army crossed the line of control during the Kargil war and that he and the civil government were not taken into confidence at that time, he said.—INP