Pakistan should stop protecting internationally recognised terrorists such as Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, its former envoy here has said, while stating that the Pakistani judiciary and law enforcement have lost all respect globally.
"It is time for Pakistan to stop protecting internationally recognised terrorists such as (JuD chief) Hafiz Saeed, Dawood Ibrahim, Siraj Haqqani and Masood Azhar instead of misusing legal devices for domestic propaganda against dissidents and political critics," said former Pakistan Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani against whom Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency has written to the Interpol seeking a red warrant for his arrest.
Haqqani said in its letter the FIA has specified no crime except for his criticism of the Pakistani state's policies.
"Pakistani judiciary and law enforcement has lost all respect internationally," he said.
"Such letters are regularly written by Pakistani authorities to generate news in the Pakistani media and have no standing in international law. As a rule, Interpol does not act in political and religious matters of state," said the former top Pakistani diplomat who is now Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia at the prestigious Hudson Institute think-tank.
Haqqani who was his country's ambassador to the US from 2008-2011, said that he has not been charged with any crime.
"I am a target of political persecution because of views I have expressed in my books and other writings, and do not expect any action by Interpol or any other international institution on the Pakistani state's blatantly political initiative," he said.
The fate of this latest exercise will be the same as that of letters written by Pakistani authorities to Interpol in the past with regard to other political cases, he said.
"Just as Interpol refused to comply with Pakistani requests relating to Mr Altaf Husain, Mr Brahamdagh Bugti, and General Pervez Musharraf, I expect this latest request to be turned down as well," Haqqani said.
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