ISLAMABAD, October 5: A special court on Friday issued permanent arrest warrants for former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani in a case pertaining to embezzlement of at least $2 million from the Pakistan embassy fund during his tenure from 2008 to 2012.
According to a news channel, Judge Arham Niazi heard the case in Islamabad. Haqqani had already been declared absconder.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented a report in the court which held Haqqani responsible for the misappropriation of the aforementioned embassy funds.
The report also relayed that the ex-envoy purposely fled away and a notice has also been put up at his residence in Karachi.
Last month, international law expert Ahmer Bilal Soofi informed the apex court that Haqqani could not be brought back to Pakistan on charges of contempt of court. Soofi apprised the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar that the offence pertaining to an alleged misappropriation of the embassy fund could be pursued but the matter should be referred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and FIA to bring Haqqani back through Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA). Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that the Foreign Office should take up the matter with US authorities to bring back Haqqani to the country. In view of this offence, Haqqani could be arrested in the US under the international law.-Agencies
