Haqqani rebuts reports about 'harassment campaign' against US officials

Washington, Dec. 19 (ANI): Rebutting reports about a deliberate harassment campaign being run against US officials, Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, has said that being a sovereign country Pakistan has its own procedures for issuing visas.

Haqqani vehemently rejected the notion that Islamabad was deliberately holding back visas for American officials.

"We have our own bureaucratic methods and we are trying to work them to the advantage of both countries," The Daily Times quoted Haqqani, as saying.

"The only thing that has happened is that the number of Americans present in Pakistan has increased exponentially, so we' re having to deal with far more visa applications than we used to in the past," he added.

According to US officials, the Pakistani authorities have refused to extend or approve visas of at least 100 US officials in the recent past. (ANI)