Islamabad, Jan 7 (IANS) The US government believes it is time to seek a fair and transparent judicial process for Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington in the memo scandal.

On Friday, the US State Department said that it felt the time had come to demand a fair and transparent judicial process for Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani and make it clear that “we’re watching”, the Dawn reported Saturday.

Three US Senators Thursday voiced concern over the reported mistreatment of Haqqani.

During the US State Department briefing, spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the US administration was concerned about Haqqani’s fate.

“While it’s obviously an internal matter for Pakistan, and we respect Pakistan’s constitutional and legal processes, we expect that any process for resolving the matter of Ambassador Haqqani will proceed in a way that is fair, that’s transparent, that is as expeditious as possible,” she said.

“We also expect that Ambassador Haqqani will be accorded all due consideration under Pakistani law and in conformity with international legal standards. And we will be watching and monitoring the situation closely,” she added.

Until now, the State Department had been refusing to comment on the issue, saying that it was Pakistan’s internal matter.

Replying to a question as to whether the US was now more concerned about Haqqani’s case than earlier, Nuland said: “The situation is obviously evolving in Pakistan, so we want to see it evolve in a manner that meets the highest international legal standard.”

Haqqani was forced to resign last year after Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed that he was asked by Haqqani to pass on a memo to the American government seeking its help to oust Islamabad’s military leadership.

Currently staying as a guest at the prime minister’s official residence in Islamabad, Haqqani fears that he will be murdered if he leaves the place, the Daily Telegraph reported earlier this week.