Haqqani says no comparison between US bailout package and AFPAK aid

October 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a "very intensive," three and a half hour AFPAK discussion in the secure Principals Conference Room in the Ops Center on Friday. According to Politico, among those who participated in the discussion were Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, his deputy Paul Jones, senior advisor Vali Nasr, special defense advisor Vikram Singh, deputy secretaries of state Jim Steinberg and Jack Lew, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Bob Blake, Clinton chief of staff Jake Sullivan and deputy policy planning chief Derek Chollet, plus US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson and senior embassy leadership via secure video.

October 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan's envoy to the US, Hussain Haqqani, has said the Kerry-Lugar Bill has no provision to restrict Islamabad's nuclear programme. However, he added, that the bill prevents Pakistan from being part of any outward proliferation.

August 18th, 2009 White House OK with $7 million salary for AIG CEOWASHINGTON — The White House is fine with bailed-out insurer AIG's decision to pay its new CEO $7 million a year. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs says that's the price of competent leadership to make the company profitable again.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A list released by the local government of Washington, D.C. has placed Pakistan's Ambassador Husain Haqqani among tax defaulters for failing to pay tax on an apartment he owned in the US capital.

June 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, has urged Washington to continue aiding Pakistan's fight against terrorism, as it would only be an investment in US security. "There is room for greater investment from both the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

May 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States considers the next 12 to 18 months as critical to the success of its revamped AFPAK policy. Addressing an off the record briefing, in which the briefer is not identified, a top US military official said the next year and half would crucial for the US led 'war on terror' against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

May 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan has said that it is ready to phase out its nuclear weapons if India too agrees to do the same. Terming Pakistan's nuclear arsenal as a 'deterrent' against India, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Hussain Haqqani said Islamabad is willing to ink an accord with New Delhi in order to destroy the nukes possessed by the two neighboring countries.

April 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan has expressed its unhappiness over the 'stringed' US aid, terming the conditions put under the new AFPAK policy as 'intrusive'. Addressing delegates at the Washington think-tank, the Atlantic Council, with his Afghan counterpart, Pakistan's envoy to the United States Hussain Haqqani said America must understand the root cause of extremism in the region.

April 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan has asked for a $30 billion dollar Marshall Plan-like package for Pakistan and Afghanistan over the next five years to fight the Al Qaeda, blunt anti-American sentiment and secure Pakistan from extremists bent on destabilising its civilian government. The demand was made by Pakistan's Ambassador to US Husain Haqqani in an interview with the Washington Times published Wednesday.

April 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan is concerned with the US President Barack Obama's idea of forming new contact group including India on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has said that it will raise the issue during the US Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke's forthcoming visit to the country. "We will talk to our American interlocutors.

March 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani has welcomed the new US anti-terrorism by saying the plan has better prospects to deliver than the previous military-focused unilateral approach. "I think the chances of this strategy (announced by US President Barack Obama on Friday) working are far better than the purely military strategy of the past.

March 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has announced a reward of five million dollars to anyone revealing the whereabouts of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud. US State Department statement also said that a similar bounty has been put on the senior leader of the Haqqani group, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and a million dollar reward on high ranking Al-Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi.

March 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Following fears that the United States might cut off aid and assistance to Pakistan if political instability prevails, Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, has expressed hope that the Obama administration's help to the country would remain unaffected despite the turmoil. "The United States support and aid should be for the Pakistani people and should remain unaffected by developments in domestic politics.

March 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, has outrightly rejected suggestions that the US played a role in the latest political solution in Islamabad. Haqqani said that US as an ally might have concerns over Pakistan's emanating internal situation, but it had no role in the internal politics of Pakistan.

January 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Senate Thursday approved to release the remaining $350 billion of the $700 billion financial bailout package, clearing the way for a new infusion of cash for the financial industry. The request was approved by a vote of 52-42 after former Treasury secretary Larry Summers, who will be Obama's top economic adviser, promised that up to $100 billion of the remaining funds would be spent on tackling the US home mortgage crisis.