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KARACHI: Former Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani declared Saturday that he was determined not to return home to Pakistan for the time being due to health concerns, adding that his life was still in danger.

Speaking to Sana Bucha in the Geo News programme ëLekin,í Haqqani said he would not be travelling to Pakistan anytime in the near future owing to the fact that he was not feeling well and that travel to Pakistan was linked to his doctorís advice. At the same time, the former ambassador referred to the assassination of governor Salman Taseer and said he would not take the risk of travelling to Pakistan because he could be killed by any agency terming him as a traitor.

Haqqani claimed that he had been blamed by a person sitting overseas on the basis of an assumption, but that those charges had failed to be proven. ìI went abroad because I am not a criminal and there were no cases pending against me. Nor am I under trial,î he maintained, adding that there was no truth in the alleged memo and the nation knew it.

ìI am not afraid, but am still being made a target of prejudices,î he lamented.

Haqqani recalled Imran Khanís charges, asking the ambassador whether he was an ambassador of Pakistan or the United States. ìIn fact there are many people who are interested in amplifying the differences between the US and Pakistan,î he said, adding that Pakistan would have to explain how and why former al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was living in the country.

The former envoy to the US said no investigation had been conducted against him by either General Pasha or the ISI. ìEverything was taken for granted after listening to Mansoor Ijaz for four hours. Those who could not trace Osamaís presence in Pakistan had been following the memo and on that basis I was called a traitor,î he claimed.

In response to a question he said he had been a public servant and knew well that it was not suitable time to reveal everything openly. There were elements who were interested in running the foreign policy in a manner that was not in the countyís best interests, he maintained. Haqqani said he was not Mansoor Ijaz, and that he was Husain Haqqani, whoís BlackBerry was being talked about but Mansoor Ijaz had not handed over his BlackBerry. About Mansoor Ijaz, the ambassador said he was simply a businessman.

He maintained that those failing in the investigation into Osama Bin Ladenís presence in the country had now turned towards the memo issue. Haqqani explained that the BlackBerry company did not keep a record of spent messages beyond three months. He also asked that if the incident took place in May, then why was the article written in October, adding that he received more than 800 phone calls in three months and just three of those calls were from Mansoor Ijaz.

ìSo what is the significance?î he asked, adding that the president and the prime minister had both come to know about the memo in November, but by that time General Pasha had already landed in London. He also explained that he had little knowledge about diplomacy which was why he had resigned before coming to Pakistan.