Haqqani has denied involvement with the memo, which was sent to Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Mullen has said he ignored the missive. But Pakistan’s generals are said to be outraged, and opposition parties have questioned whether Zardari authorized the memo, which some observers say amounted to treason.
Pakistani officials said the resignation is likely to remove that pressure. But some analysts said that whatever the truth about the document, the uproar has cemented the military’s supreme position — the opposite of what it appeared to be seeking.
“The takeaway from this is that the civilians look suspect and the army looks like the one institution that has Pakistan’s best interests at heart,” said Cyril Almeida, a columnist for the English-language newspaper Dawn. “Anything that diminishes the civilians by definition strengthens the army.”
On Wednesday, Pakistan appointed Sherry Rehman, a former magazine editor and information minister, as the new ambassador to the United States, the Associated Press reported.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday that he asked Haqqani to resign so that an investigation could be carried out “fairly, objectively and without bias.” Haqqani, in an e-mail, said he quit to quell a “meaningless controversy.”
“To me Pakistan and Pakistan’s democracy are far more important than any artificially created crisis over an insignificant memo written by a self-centred businessman,” said Haqqani, who flew to Pakistan on Sunday to face questions from civilian and military leaders.
The State Department, while watching the events in Islamabad, appeared to be staying out of a situation in which, in its view, any U.S. involvement would have only negative repercussions. The Obama administration wanted the matter settled before it could interfere with larger concerns about Pakistan’s cooperation in the Afghan war, said U.S. officials who declined to discuss the sensitive diplomatic matter publicly.
The officials questioned whether allowing Mullen — who was close to Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s army chief — to become such a prominent point man for the administration had skewed the bilateral relationship toward the military and indirectly contributed to the memo controversy. Because businessman Mansoor Ijaz sent his memo to Mullen, U.S. diplomats were unaware of the situation until it erupted in Pakistan last month. The memo was e-mailed by former national security adviser James L. Jones, whom Ijaz enlisted for the task.
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