Islamabad, Dec 21(ANI): Former Pakistan ambassador Husain Haqqani has said he prevented the United Nations and the United States from imposing sanctions on his country after the May 2 Abbottabad raid that had killed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Presenting his case before the Abbottabad judicial probe, he pointed out that the UN Security Council had also issued a warning, which called on all states to work together to combat terrorism, bring its perpetrators to justice.
Haqqani said his "tough and thankless assignment included making amends and conveying Pakistan's concerns to the US.
"As such, the task before the Pakistan embassy in Washington was to ensure that the negative mood in the US does not result in aggressive sanctions or restrictions on Pakistan by the US Congress," The Express Tribune quoted him, as saying.
"Over the next several days, I appeared on numerous US television and radio programs, addressed several think tanks and met with dozens of US Congressmen and Senators to give them the Pakistani perspective and to defend our institutions of state," he added.
Haqqani said he defended Pakistan's institutions against charges of violating UN resolutions and providing shelter to Bin Laden.
Haqqani also had to answer some pressing questions presented by the commission. His statement addressed allegations that an 'excessive' amount of visas had been issued to Americans preceding the May 2 raid, specifically people associated with the Central Intelligence Agency.
Haqqani said the Pakistan embassy in Washington had been sluggish in issuing visas from April to June 2010, which had created a backlog.
Pakistan Prime Minister had then authorised the ambassador some discretion in issuing visas in his letter dated July 14 2010, he added. (ANI)
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