US administration backs Pak government in memogate controversy

Pakistan

US administration backs Pak government in memogate controversy

Close

The US administration is backing Pakistan's civilian government in the memogate controversy.

22 November,2011 02:04 am

In the days following the controversy regarding a secret memo sent to former US chiefs of joint staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, which is being dubbed in the US media as another battle in the troubled history of civil-military relationship in the country, the US administration is clearly throwing its weight behind the civilian government of Pakistan, Dunya News has learnt.The secret memo was allegedly sent through a Pakistani-American businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, who used an inter-mediatory to hand over this memo to Admiral Mullen, who has already denied taking any notice of it, on behalf of thePakistani government. It has now been confirmed that former National Security Adviser of the White House, Gen. (retd) James Jones played the inter-mediatory role.The White House spokesperson, talking exclusively to Dunya News here Monday, said that they had seen the press reports that General Jones has confirmed his involvement and that he was not in government at the time. He, however, declined to comment on the memogate controversy, terming it an internal Pakistani matter.However, on another question, the spokesman said we support the democratically elected government of Pakistan, and it has been our longstanding policy. We expect that Pakistan’s elected and military leaders will act in accordance with Pakistan’s constitution, he added.Our focus remains on working together with our Pakistani partners to fight the terrorism that threatens the United States, Pakistan and endangers the stability of Afghanistan and the region, the spokesman said indicating that any destabilization in Pakistan could be detrimental for such objectives.Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the state department, where Husain Haqqani had some meetings including one with Ambassador Marc Grossman, on Monday also refused to comment on the specific issue of secret memo.However, Victoria Nuland, the spokesperson, took the opportunity to back the civilian government by saying that we always expect that Pakistans leaders will act in accordance with Pakistans constitution and will act in a manner respectful of its democratic institutions.She, however, declined answering a question on Husain Haqqanis meetings in the state department before departure or whether the US was concerned about his safety. Our understanding is that Ambassador Husain Haqqani has gone back for consultations. We will refer you to the Pakistani government on these consultations and what he is specifically up to, she opined.Earlier on Friday, the current National Security Adviser of White House, Tom Donilon, while declining to comment on memogate, had also described the relationship with Pakistan as critically important. We have a critically important counterterrorism relationship with the Pakistanis that we work on every single day, he stated.Tom Donilon said that we work with both the civilian government and with the military, depending on the issue. But I dont have a way, from this distance, to comment on the question (memogate) that you raise. We have, obviously, the support that we need for our efforts in Afghanistan that we work on each day with the Pakistanis, he argued.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC