As U.S.-Pakistani relations plunge to new depths, Americans need to look beyond media reports on tactical issues such as aid and counterterrorism. The direction Pakistan takes will be of great strategic significance to the world. The manner in which my husband, former Pakistani ambassador Husain Haqqani, is being treated in our homeland reflects the shrinking political space there for anyone who advocates positive relations with the West or stands up for religious-cultural tolerance and pluralism.

Husain resigned in November after successfully making Pakistan’s case in Washington for more than three years. He was implicated in a controversy sparked by an unsigned memo sent to Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after the U.S. raid inside Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden in May. The memo, written by a Pakistani American businessman, ostensibly sought U.S. support for Pakistan’s civilian government against its military. The idea of an elected government seeking foreign help in reining in its military leaders is anathema to Pakistanis, who are rightly protective of our national sovereignty.

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