“President Zardari sedated and taken to hospital in Abu Dhabi. He will go to London asap. Farahnaz Ispahani with him but not HH (Husain Haqqani),” well-known Pakistani publisher and editor Najam Sethi tweeted around 4 p.m. Tuesday Washington time.
Sethi, 63, who is now in the Washington DC area along with his wife Jugnu Mohsin, then corrected his tweet and said, “AZ (Asif Zardari) in Dubai hospital.” Abu Dhabi and Dubai are two states of the United Arab Emirates.
Farahnaz Ispahani, wife of Husain Haqqani, who was a journalist and had worked at the State Department-run Voice of America before joining Pakistan’s murky politics, is said to be accompanying Zardari.
Zardari has gone to Dubai, a smugglers’ paradise turned into financial laundromat for corrupt Pakistan politicians, to seek the support of the super-rich Emirates rulers who have been bankrolling Pakistan for many decades now and act as referees in Pakistan’s internal conflicts.
Haqqani, the former ambassador to the United States, was booted out by the generals for trying to curtail their links with al Qaeda and Taliban by allegedly authoring a memo to former Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.
Both Zardari and Haqqani are facing mental torture and threats from the army generals for their alleged betrayal of Pakistan’s “national interests.” Zardari had allegedly faced torture in May 1999 as well when cuts were said to be inflicted on his tongue while he was in prison.
“There are rumors that he is going to resign citing health issues,” Sheikh Asad Rahman, director programs at the Sungi Development Foundation, told this correspondent on phone from Islamabad. “It was very sudden and no indications were given. [I] Suspect that the SC (Supreme Court) cases and army have put pressure for his exit, if it happens,” Rahman added.
American businessmen of Pakistan origin Mansoor Ijaz exposed the memo, even though he was a party to it, by writing an article in the Finanical Times that catalyzed a crisis in Pakistan. But he firmly believes he is doing the right thing for the good of all.
As the drama unfolded, a Pakistan’s television channel released ran news tickers that said Ijaz belongs to the Ahmadi community, which is persecuted in Pakistan, Indonesia and some other Muslim countries.
Rumor mills were working overtime in Pakistan that said Ijaz did not receive his full lobbying fee that made him angry. In spite of living off U.S. doles, Pakistan has a multi-million dollars lobbying budget that is higher than even that of India.
In emails and phone talk with this correspondent Wednesday afternoon Ijaz vehemently denied from London he is an Ahmadi or a lobbying mercenary, but did not want any attribution.
Sethi was embarrassed by the faux pas of mixing up Dubai with Abu Dhabi in his tweet in spite of being a veteran journalist.
“I have clarified that I meant Dubai instead of Abu Dhabi. But I still think London may be his next stop,” Sethi said around 7.15 p.m. Washington time.
Sethi is one of the main brains behind the Zardari-led democratic government of Pakistan. However, Pakistani generals treat Pakistan constitution as toilet paper and have directly ruled over Pakistan for half of its existence since independence from Britain in four military dictatorships.
Both Sethi and Mohsin were present at the Brookings Institution Monday where former C.I.A. career agent-turned-academic Bruce Riedel announced that Pakistan is in the throes of a fifth military dictatorship.
Ispahani tweeted, ” Beautiful marsia recited by Madam Noor Jehan .” Marcia is a poem on the death of someone heroic or beautiful and the timing of the Ispahani’s tweet clearly conveyed a message the civilian government was in grave danger.
Haqqani tweeted from Pakistan around noon Washington DC time that “I still don’t know what the charges are, except media innuendo and claims.” The former ambassador is barred from leaving the country by a high court order