Husain Haqqani

Husain Haqqani حسین حقّانی
24th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
In office 13 April 2008 – 22 November 2011
Preceded by	Mahmud Ali Durrani
Succeeded by	Sherry Rehman
High Commissioner of Pakistan to Sri Lanka
In office 11 May 1992 – 28 June 1993
Preceded by	Tariq Mir
Succeeded by	Tariq Altaf
Personal details
Born	1 July 1956 (1956-07-01) Karachi, Pakistan
Spouse(s)	Farahnaz Ispahani
Children	3 daughters 1 son
Alma mater	University of Karachi
Profession	Journalist
Religion	Islam

Husain Haqqani or Hussain Haqqani (Urdu: حسین حقّانی) (born July 1, 1956) is the former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, appointed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in April 2008 and was resigned on November 22, 2011. Previously, he has held numerous high-ranking positions in and out of government, including as adviser to three former Pakistani prime ministers and as envoy to Sri Lanka, and has been a prominent journalist, scholar and educator. His appointment in 2008 marked a return to government service after being exiled in 1999 following criticisms against the government of then-President Pervez Musharraf.

Early life, personal and family

Haqqani was born in Karachi and was raised in a conservative but educated middle-class family in Malir outside Karachi.

He began his interest in journalism while in high school. Year 1972 in Government National Science College (Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi), he became president of the student union of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami). In 1973 he joined Karachi University. He would frequently visit the library at the U.S. consulate, reading volumes of American history. Later, when students wanted to attack the consulate as part of a protest against the United States, Haqqani refused.

Haqqani has an excellent academic record with distinctions at all stages. He received a B.A. degree with distinction in 1977 and an M.A. degree with distinction in international relations in 1980 from the University of Karachi.

He has worked for Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, PML(N) and PPP.

Then in March 2000, he married to Farahnaz Ispahani, a former producer at CNN and MSNBC and current member of the Pakistani parliament, and the granddaughter of Mirza Abol Hassan Ispahani, Pakistan's first ambassador to Washington. Their official residence in Washington was purchased and donated by her grandfather.

He has lived in the United States since 2002, and has developed a taste for the Boston Red Sox baseball team and news programs.

Pakistan Embassy residence in Washington, D.C.

Government and political career

At the time of his appointment as ambassador on April 3, 2008, Haqqani was viewed as a respected figure on the world stage, coming to the post well versed in the ways of diplomacy and Washington. He succeeded Mahmud Ali Durrani, who became national security adviser to the Gillani government.

Prior to his appointment, Haqqani had been critical of the Musharraf regime and past U.S. support to Pakistan's military. In 2007, he told the U.S. Congress that Musharraf's decision to remove Pakistan’s chief justice was a grave mistake.

Policy direction

As ambassador, Haqqani has charted a course of increasing predictability in U.S.-Pakistani relations. He links security issues to economic ones, and has commented that the lack of a strategic foundation has plagued U.S.-Pakistani relations since Pakistan’s inception. "The U.S.-Pakistan relationship has gone up and down like a yoyo," according to Haqqani, "and the reason why…is because U.S. strategic planners have never looked upon Pakistan in its own right".

He terms the historical bilateral relationship as "erratic", citing U.S. engagement from the early Cold War to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when the U.S. government backed Afghan fighters by funneling support through the Pakistani channels. He is skeptical that completely stabilizing the relationship can be accomplished during the tenure of one ambassador, but seeks to "lay the foundations of a relationship that is multidimensional: political, military, cultural, economic and social".

He believes that—in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto -- a consensus exists in Pakistan that, to forge a stronger national identity, Pakistani provinces and ethnic groups must continue to unify through democratic processes, but unfortunately democracy in its true sense does not exist at all.

Other experience

Haqqani has been a campaign worker, senior adviser, ambassador, spokesperson and scholar. In 1988, he worked in the political campaign for an alliance led by Nawaz Sharif; In 1990, he was special assistant to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; from 1990–92, he was special assistant and spokesman for Prime Minister Sharif; from 1992–93, he became one of Pakistan's youngest ambassadors, serving in Sri Lanka; from 1993–95, he was spokesman to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; from 1995–96, he was chairman of the House Building Finance Corporation.

From 2004-08, Haqqani was an associate professor for international relations at Boston University. In addition, he co-chaired the Project on Islam and Democracy at the Hudson Institute in Washington, and was editor of the journal Current Trends in Islamists Ideology. Among his numerous writing credits are "Pakistan Between Mosque and Military" for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; "Islam’s Medieval Outposts" for the journal Foreign Policy, and "The Role of Islam in Pakistan’s Future" for Washington Quarterly.

Memogate Scandal

On 17 November 2011, American businessman Mansoor Ijaz publicly accused Husain Haqqani of involvement with a secret memo to Admiral Michael Mullen asking for US intervention in changing Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies. However, the Pakistani Government has denied any high treason charges against him. Ambassador Haqqani denied the accusation, and offered to resign saying, "I do not want this nonissue of an insignificant memo written by a private individual and not considered credible by its lone recipient to undermine democracy." On 22 November 2011, Ambassador Haqqani officially resigned saying that "Pakistan and Pakistan's democracy are far more important than any artificially created crisis over an insignificant memo written by a self-centred businessman. I have served Pakistan and Pakistani democracy to the best of my ability and will continue to do so." Haqqani's wife, Farahnaz Ispahani, stated that she and her husband are exploring lawsuits against Mansoor Ijaz in US and Pakistani courts.

Journalism background

Haqqani worked as a full-time journalist from 1980-88. He covered the war in Afghanistan for Voice of America radio; served as the Pakistan and Afghanistan correspondent for Far Eastern Economic Review; and worked in Hong Kong as the East Asian correspondent for the London-based Arabia: the Islamic World Review.

Since that time, he has steadily contributed op-eds and articles to dozens of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe, Financial Times in London, International Herald Tribune, South China Morning Post, Toronto Globe and Mail, Gulf News and Le Monde. He has also been a syndicated columnist for the Indian Express and Daily Star in Bangladesh; he has appeared regularly on television news shows for BBC, CNN, NBC, PBS, CBS and ABC, commenting on Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asian affairs, Islamic politics and radicalism.

External links

• HusainHaqqani.com, unofficial site
• Husain Haqqani on Twitter
• Profile at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C.
• Profile at Boston University, former Associate Professor of International Relations
• Profile at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Profile at The Washington Diplomat
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Husain Haqqani on Charlie Rose
• Husain Haqqani at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Husain Haqqani in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Tariq M. Mir	Pakistan Ambassador to Sri Lanka 1992 – 1993	Succeeded by Tariq Altaf
Preceded by Mahmud Ali Durrani	Pakistan Ambassador to the United States 2008 – 2011	Succeeded by Sherry Rehman