Mansurul Haq

Mansurul Haq (Urdu: منصور الحق) (born October 1937 in Sialkot) is a former admiral and now-disposed Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Navy. Haq was retired in 1997 by the prime minister Nawaz Sharif government. He was then-arrested on charges of corruption in 2001, but later negotiated a plea bargain and was released.

Naval career
Mansurul Haq passed his FSc from Murray College, Sialkot and joined Pakistan Navy in 1954. He received his initial training from Britain, graduating from Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in September 1958. After serving on various sea appointments, he graduated as Gunnery Specialist from HMS Excellent, Portsmouth. Later in his career he was promoted to the rank of Commodore in 1983 and served in the Naval Headquarters as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Operations and Personnel. He served at the Naval War College in New Port, Rhode Island. Haque held the senior positions of Commander Karachi, Commander Pakistan Fleet, Director Naval Intelligence and spent time at the Joint Staff Head Quarters.

Senior appointments
Mansurul Haque was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 9 January 1987 and sent as Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK). From there, he moved as DG Training at Joint Staff HQ in August 1988 and as DCNS (Personnel) at NHQ in October 1990. He also stayed as Commander Karachi (COMKAR) (1991–1992) and Chairman Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) (18 August 1992 – 1994). From there, Haq was appointed as Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) on 10 November 1994.

Dismissal
Haq was implicated in Agosta class submarine deals scandal in 1994 as Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy. He was retired and later arrested during Prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Government in 1997 but nothing serious came of it. He was then tried in military court during dictatorship era of Pervez Musharraf. He was arrested again, this time by the United States Government on request of the Pakistani military regime, and returned with his own free will to Pakistan in 2001 to face charges of corruption by the Pervez Musharraf Government. While Haque had a right to fight for his extradition, he choose not to.

Haque was also alleged to have been involved in a deal made through Pakistan National Shipping Corporation which caused the loss of $3 million to the national exchequer. He was sentenced to seven-year rigorous imprisonment in 2004 and fined Rs.2 million. Haque won the case on the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation charges after being kept under arrest for extensive period. The court released him and made a strict statement that people should not be harassed by military courts. The charges were deemed basless by the judge - Haque won this case in the time of the military dictatorship of President Musharraf. The National Accountably Bureau court (investigation cell setup during military dictatorship) challenged the verdict of the court and later again lost the baseless case against Haque.

Haque remains silent while recent press is pointing to the fact that the submarine purchase was made before Haque was made Chief of Naval Staff and that the selection and deal finalisation was done by his predecessor Admiral Saeed M Khan. Names of other Senior officers who enjoyed senior positions after Haques arrest and during his trial are also emerging. It has also been disclosed lately on National TV in Pakistan that Haque had given details of the culprits to Prime Minister Sharif and that the culprits were made state witnesses against Haque to divert attention and not get the case blown out.

Haque and some other high profile Pakistani businessmen were being linked to the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto by the Military regime of Musharraf with the objective to malign her in Pakistan. So far, no other high profile military General in Pakistan has been tried for anything. Recent press in France and Pakistan is pointing to some other senior Admirals and officials who tried to put the blame on Haque when it is not clear that the decision to purchase Agosta submarine's was made before Haque took office as Chief of Naval staff.

Conspiracy
In an interview to Dawn News former Director-General Naval Intelligence, Shahid Ashraf, revealed on national TV that the submarine deal, for which Admiral Mansurul Haq pleaded guilty, was signed before he took charge as Chief of Naval Staff. Shahid Ashraf further claimed that Admiral Haq was not part of the selection team which recommended Agosta class submarine for purchase from France. The selection was made during Admiral Saeed Mohammad Khan. The selection committee included various Admirals including those who subsequently held senior positions after Admiral Haq was removed from his position. However, Shahid Ashraf did not put forward any evidence that proved Haq's innocence.

Karachi Affair
In June 2010, French investigators raided the house of Amir Lodhi, an arms dealer, and confiscated important documents by National Accountability Bureau. Amir Lodhi, 61, is the brother of the former Pakistan Ambassador to USA, Maliha Lodhi and was involved in the French Agosta class submarine sale to Pakistan worth $1.4 billon. The reports confiscated by the French investigator revealed that National Accountability Bureau found no direct links to Admiral Haq's involvement in the submarine deal. However, direct links were found in regards to current President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. He was found to have received €33 million while Amir Lodhi's share was €2.9 million.

Nicolas Sarkozy
Extract: The French press is sniffing cautiously but persistently around a story that some believe has potential to do enormous damage to President Nicolas Sarkozy. It is a complex tale linking arms sales to Pakistan with the secret funding of French politics. A 2002 bomb attack that killed 11 French naval engineers in Karachi also plays a part. The president and his advisors have dismissed any suggestion of wrongdoing on his part as "grotesque". However, there have been continuing suggestions that Mr Sarkozy may know more than he lets on. The origins of the affair lie in the years 1993 to 1995, when Nicolas Sarkozy was budget minister in the government of conservative Prime Minister Edouard Balladur.

In 1994, France negotiated a deal to sell three Agosta-class submarines to Pakistan for a sum equivalent to 826m euros (£684m, $996m). In accordance with standard procedure back then (only in 2000 did France sign an OECD convention outlawing commissions), some 50m euros were paid as "sweeteners" to various senior Pakistani figures....In 1995, Jacques Chirac defeated Mr Balladur in the first round of the vote and went on to become president. According to Le Contrat, he immediately cancelled payment of the commissions which he knew (from intelligence sources) had helped to fund his rival's campaign. Seven years later, an explosion killed 11 employees of the DCN as they travelled to work in Karachi. For a long time it was presumed the attack was the work of al-Qaeda. But last year a new judge in charge of the case, Marc Trevidic, focused on another theory. He believes that the Karachi attack may have been carried out on orders from unnamed Pakistani intelligence and military chiefs, angry that their share of the Agosta backhanders was never paid. It is a monumental - and unproven - allegation. But the families of many of those who died are increasingly inclined to believe it. Their lawyer, Olivier Morice, is the most outspoken of the president's critics. "Nicolas Sarkozy was at the heart of the corruption and he has lied to the families. What we have before us is not some imaginary tale, but a state lie. The families are indignant and demand his resignation," he said.

The dates of this activity are before appointment of Haque as Chief of Pakistan Navy - The selection of the vessel was done in the times of his predecessor Admiral Saeed Khan, related to senior Pakistani officials.