US ex-envoy to Pakistan Olson faces jail for ‘improper practices’

Former US ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson is in hot water as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has tightened its noose around him for indulging in “improper practices” including dating a Pakistani journalist during his stay in Islamabad, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Friday.

The State Department had presented a plethora of evidence against his former employee in the trial court which will now sentence him next week.

Richard Olson faces sentencing following a series of revelations about his personal and professional conduct, including an extramarital affair with journalist Muna Habib during his tenure as the US ambassador to Pakistan.

Olson, who retired from the State Department in 2016, had an illustrious 34-year career. However, recently disclosed court records have shed light on a different side of his life, The Washington Post reported.

One aspect of the investigation centered around Olson's failure to report a $60,000 gift of diamond jewellery from the emir of Dubai to his mother-in-law while he was serving as the head of the US Consulate in Dubai. Additionally, the FBI probed his involvement in arranging for a Pakistani American businessman, Imaad Zuberi, to pay $25,000 in tuition bills for Muna Habib, enabling her to attend the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

The Washington Post report, which triggered the controversy, recalls how Ambassador Olson conducted his personal and diplomatic business during and after his service.

In court filings, Olson’s attorneys said the former ambassador “merely made an introduction (to someone he knew), a very common practice for a diplomat” and that there was nothing improper about the tuition payment because he was not dating Ms Habib at that point“.

The Post claimed Olson had illicit relationships with multiple Pakistani women, including Muna Habib, during his stint as a diplomat in Islamabad between 2012 and 2015.

In the article titled Diamonds, girlfriends, illicit lobbying: The fall of a former ambassador, the newspaper reported that Olson arranged thousands of dollars to help Muna Habib attend Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He introduced Ms Habib to Imaad Zuberi, a Pakistani-American businessman, who offered to pay $25,000 to meet her tuition expenses.

The article noted that after a distinguished 34-year career with the State Department, Olson retired in 2016, garnering commendation for his extensive diplomatic service, which encompassed significant roles in Pakistan and the UAE, as well as risky assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Previously undisclosed records filed in court reveal that Mr Olson was investigated for failing to report a $60,000 gift of diamond jewellery to the mother (of his former wife, Deborah Jones) from the emir of Dubai.”

“The FBI also questioned him about his extramarital affair with a journalist working in Pakistan while he was serving as the US ambassador in Islamabad,” the Post reported.

Mr Olson told FBI that he had confided in the CIA’s Islamabad station chief about his dating habits, but court records indicate that he did not report his liaisons to US diplomatic security officials, as required.

Mr Olson, 63, is scheduled to be sentenced in US District Court in Washington on Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to two misdemeanours.

On the first charge, Olson admitted that when he was the ambassador to Pakistan, he failed to disclose that he received a $18,000 first-class ticket to London for a job interview with a Gulf investment firm. On the second charge, he acknowledged that he illicitly lobbied US officials on behalf of the government of Qatar in 2017, violating a law that prohibited him from doing so for a year after his retirement.

However, Mr Olson was not charged with wrongdoing related to the diamonds or his girlfriend’s tuition, but the US Justice Department said that the episodes show a pattern of unethical behaviour.

 

Reporter Mohsinul Mulk