LAHORE, Jan 25: The Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has expressed concern at the infringement of rights of Hussain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States.
In a statement circulated through electronic mail on Wednesday, ICJ's Bangkok-based international legal advisor Sheila Varadan said Mr Haqqani had been embroiled in a political and judicial conflict stemming from a leaked memorandum that he was alleged to have authored a few days after Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.She said Mr Haqqani faced a vicious media trial following which the Supreme Court of Pakistan, while taking up a petition, stopped him from travelling abroad despite the fact that he had not been charged with any crime.
The ICJ advisor said Mr Haqqani continued to receive threats and had been painted as disloyal to the country though there was no proof of any betrayal of his duties as an ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, she added.
Ms Varadan said there were legitimate concerns that by convening a judicial commission, the Supreme Court might have overstepped its constitutional authority and that this action could undermine the ongoing parliamentary inquiry.
It urged Pakistani authorities to respect Mr Haqqani's right to be presumed innocent and to remove the restriction on his right to travel abroad and any other restriction on his right to move freely.
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