Killers are waiting for me, Zardari aide says

London: Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan's embattled former ambassador to Washington, fears he will be murdered if he leaves his sanctuary in the official residence of the country's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said he had been branded a traitor and a ‘Washington lackey' by ‘powerful quarters': a reference to the country's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency. He said that he feared he would be murdered like his friend Salman Taseer, the late governor of Punjab, who was shot dead by one of his own security guards last year after being branded a ‘blasphemer'.

Haqqani was forced to resign last year after a Pakistani-American businessman claimed to have been asked by the then ambassador to pass on a memo to the American government calling for help to oust Islamabad's military leadership.

The businessman, Mansour Ejaz, said the memo contained an offer, backed by President Asif Zardari, that if Washington helped to oust the current military leadership, a new ‘national security' team would disband Section S of the ISI, which collaborates with the Afghan Taliban and other militant groups.

‘Psychological war'

He was recalled from Washington and now faces a supreme court commission inquiry into allegations he betrayed his country by colluding with America to compromise its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Both President Zardari and Haqqani have denied any involvement in the controversy and Haqqani has vowed to clear his name with evidence.

He told The Daily Telegraph that the allegations against him were false and part of a ‘psychological war' against the government of President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani by ‘certain powerful quarters'.

Western diplomats fear the row could eventually bring down President Zardari's elected government. Haqqani said both the president and prime minister were standing behind him and he was determined to stay and challenge the allegations.

He was speaking after Asmara Jahangir, his lawyer, revealed Haqqani had taken refuge in the prime minister's residence for fear the ISI would force him to make a false statement over the affair. Haqqani said he had left the prime minister's residence only three times, always under heavy security escort. "There are clear security concerns given the hysteria generated against me. Staying at the prime minister's house is the safest option," he said.

— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2012