US closely monitor memogate proceedings

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US closely monitor memogate proceedings

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The US state department is keeping a close watch on the memogate case proceedings.

07 January,2012 02:42 am

While answering the reporters in daily briefing on Friday at the State Department in Washington, DC, spokesperson Victoria Nuland for the first time spoke candidly about the case ever since the controversy erupted in November, leading to Haqqanis resignation and formation of a judicial commission to inquire the charges.Memo-gate is Pakistans internal matter but we are watching and monitoring the situation closely, Victoria said adding that the US respects the legal and constitutional processes of Pakistan and expect a fair and transparent judicial process for Haqqani,We want all legal and human rights facilities to be accorded to Husain Haqqani as per the international standards, she said while declining to comment whether US administration is also feeling concerned about Husain Haqqanis safety like the three US senators, John McCain, Joseph Lieberman and Mark Kirk, who issued a joint statement Thursday.We did not say this so clearly earlier because situation was evolving and we did not want to pre-judge the outcome. As we have seen the situation evolve over last few days, we have decided that it is important to let everybody know that we are watching and monitoring closely, she said in response to a query.When asked if the state department officials had met Haqqanis wife, Ms. Farhnaz Ispahani, who is in the US capital these days, the spokesperson conceded that wife of Ambassador Haqqani has also reached out to State Department and we have been in regular contact with her since Haqqani went back to Pakistan.Victoria Nuland replied in the affirmative when questioned whether the same message had also been conveyed to the Pakistani officials. Yes, we have done that, she said while hoping that the judicial process in Pakistan will be carried out in a just and expeditious manner.On the expectations from new Pakistani envoy to US, Sherry Rehman, she said we look forward to having Sherry Rehman as ambassador here and will make it clear to her that we want good relations with Pakistan. Sherry Rehman is reaching Washington this weekend and is expected to assume office from next week.Relationship with Pakistan is a difficult challenge but our close cooperation is in everybodys interest in the region. We want to work with Pakistan for defeating the threat of extremism, the US state departments spokesperson said while agreeing that Sherry Rehman was arriving at a challenging juncture in bilateral relations.Victoria said that administration is aware of the discussions in Pakistani parliament about strategic review of relationship with Pakistan. However, we are not aware of any conclusions yet and hope to hear from Pakistan officially in due course about it.She said that there was no update on re-opening of Nato supply routes from Pakistan. These routes were closed down in protest after the November 26 attack by Nato forces on Salala check-post that killed 26 Pakistani soldiers.-- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Washington, DC correspondent of Dunya News