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Pakistan

Haqqani lodges complaint against online abuse

Dunya News

Husain Haqqani has filed a formal complaint to the Pakistani and US investigators.

Pakistans former ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani has lodged a formal complaint against the online abuse hurled at him on various social media websites and has demanded prompt detection as well action against the perpetrators, sources revealed to Dunya News.Haqqani, currently defending himself in the ongoing investigation of memogate, has been the subject of a smear campaign eversince the investigations began. Some people have even gone to the extent of openly threatening him with dire consequences online. Therefore, fearing for his safety, he has apparently decided to approach the authorities concerned.This fear has also contributed to Haqqanis reluctance to return to Pakistan for appearing before the memo commission in its last hearing, sources informed. He has loded the complaint to American FBI and Pakistani FIAs cyber wing while also furnishing evidence of abusive remarks at twitter, facebook and other online forums. Husain Haqqani, in the letter to Pakistani and US authorities, has requested that the responsible persons should be tracked and action should be taken against them. I am a respondent in Constitutional Petitions 77-85 & 89 of 2011 and am required to appear as a witness before the Probe Commission constituted by the honorable Supreme Court vide its order dated December 30, 2012, he has written in the letter.As a result of an orchestrated media campaign, I have been painted as a traitor and US agent without any evidence or trial. One consequence of this unjust labeling is that I receive on a daily basis threats from ill-motivated Pakistanis with extremist views. Some of these threats come through social media and on internet postings. I fear for my life upon immediately returning to Pakistan, Haqqani maintained in the letter to Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) of Pakistan. Given that these threats are based on ideological motivation, I cannot trust any amount of security that the government may provide because even a guard with similar motivation could pose a threat to my life. We are all aware of how the Governor of Punjab Mr. Salmaan Taseer was murdered by his security guard and how the Judge who convicted his killer had to seek refuge overseas after threats to his life, he reaclled.Statements by former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Khwaja Mohammad Sharif, in support of Mr. Taseers killer and the fact that Mr. Sharif is representing the killer in his appeal does not inspire confidence in the legal fraternitys ability to offer me the protection of life in an environment where the views and beliefs of a man rather than his actions are the basis for violence against his person, the former ambassador went on to add in his letter.I submit herewith evidence of the some of the threats that I have received. I will send you further material if and when it becomes available, he assured while seeking that the FIAs cyber-crimes wing may be instructed to identify and apprehend those threatening his life.These threats are also the basis of my request to the honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan to record my statement before the Commission by video-conference from Washington just as another witness in the matter, Mr Mansoor Ijaz, was allowed to do from London in view of threats to the security of his life, he argued. Haqqani has also written a separate letter to FBI with a similar plea requesting action to safeguard against these threats, which, he believes, have the potential to pose serious harm to his safety. It may be mentioned here that FBI has technical expertise to track down the address of the person and computer from where such abuse has been made and the American law is quite strict in dealing with such issues under the cyber crimes category.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC
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