In January 2019, the Pakistani government reportedly initiated the process to extradite Husain Haqqani from the United States. Haqqani, a former diplomat facing charges of embezzlement in Pakistan, served as the country’s ambassador to Sri Lanka from 1992 to 1993, and to the United States between 2008 and 2011. He has also worked with four prime ministers of Pakistan.
Haqqani’s career as a diplomat has been marred with controversy—in 2012, a judicial commission set up by the government accused him of undermining the country’s security. Subsequently, he left Pakistan and moved to the United States. In March 2018, the Federal Investigation Agency, a Pakistani security agency, registered a case against Haqqani for “criminal breach of trust, misuse of authority and embezzlement of funds” during his stint at Pakistan’s embassy in the United States. The embezzlement case is believed to be the basis of his proposed extradition.
Haqqani is a vocal critic of the Pakistani military, and has repeatedly accused the country of being run by a “deep state.” He is the author of two books on Pakistan’s militancy and foreign relations—Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military and Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding. At present, Haqqani is the director of the south and central Asia division of the Hudson Institute, a US-based think tank. In an interview with the journalist Hanan Zaffar, he discussed terrorism, Islamic extremism and the necessity to re-imagine Pakistan. On the prospect of returning to Pakistan, Haqqani said, “It makes more sense to survive and to question the state narrative in Pakistan, rather than going [back to] become a victim of that state narrative.”
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