US welcomes Pak SC move to lift travel curbs on Haqqani

Expressing gratification over the lifting of travel curbs imposed on former envoy to the United States Husain Haqqani by the Pakistan's apex court, Washington has said that it wants to see him "treated fairly".

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"We are gratified that the government of Pakistan has lifted the travel ban on ambassador Haqqani, specifically the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and that he's free to travel as he chooses," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told the media at her daily news conference. "We continue to expect that Pakistan will resolve this situation and other internal issues in a transparent manner and uphold Pakistani laws and constitution," she said when asked about the lifting of travel restrictions on Haqqani.

Nuland said she is not sure of any US visa application by Haqqani, but if there were any that would be a matter of visa confidentiality. "I don't think that we necessarily needed a backchannel," she said when asked if the US indulged in any backchannel talks on this issue.

"I've been pretty clear here, as has the Secretary, that we want to see him treated fairly and that we were watching the situation," she said. The travel ban imposed on Pakistan's ex-ambassador was lifted on Monday by the country's highest court, which also gave the judicial commission two more months to complete its probe in the memo scandal. The scandal triggered a standoff between the civilian government and the powerful military, which urged the apex court to order an investigation. The court also said that the panel would decide on controversial Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz's request to record his statement outside the country.