WASHINGTON In the midst of mounting attacks against him in Pakistani media and by politicians, Ambassador Hussain Haqqani has denied that he was going to be shifted to another job. Nobody in the government at any level has broached the subject of my going to any other job or any other role so far, Haqqani was quoted as saying in the course of a dispatch in The Boston Globe. The dispatch said that Haqqani was fighting for his political survival, accused of something that could tank a government career in Pakistan: being too 'pro-American. Referring to criticism being heaped on Haqqani, the Globe says that Pakistani military have sought his dismissal. The attacks have been so nasty that Haqqani has filed a defamation lawsuit against a leading Pakistani newspaper (The Nation), it noted. If he returned home, friends say, his safety could be threatened. Its brutal, Michael Krepon of the Henry L Stimson Centre, a Washington-based think tank, was quoted as saying in the report. Ironically, the Globe says, the recent spate of criticism stems from Haqqanis role in shaping a US $7.5 billion, five-year US aid package (the Kerry-Lugar Bill) to Pakistan that aims at strengthening friendship between the two countries. The furore (over the conditions set in the Bill) has exposed a dangerous, continuing struggle between Pakistans powerful military, which Haqqani criticised as a professor (at Boston University), and the fledgling, democratically elected government. The Pakistani military clearly has decided that it would like to have him removed, the newspaper quoted an unnamed US congressional aide. A Boston University was cited as saying that Haqqani was welcomed to return early from his two-year sabbatical, which is slated to end next June, but that he has not raised the issue. Haqqani has maintained ties to Boston University and continues to advise a student pursuing a doctorate who is defending her dissertation this month. Haqqani has a reputation for emerging victorious from political warfare in Washington and Islamabad, it said calling him 'charming and shrewd. While at BU, Haqqani finished his book 'Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, which detailed the troublesome alliance between Pakistans military and radical Islamists groups. In the book, he argued that the US should use its aid to break the cycle of military dictatorship in Pakistan. In 2008, Pakistans military leaders stepped aside and allowed for the election of a new civilian government. Ali Asif Zardari, the husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, became Pakistans new president and sent his friend Haqqani to Washington. Already on a first-name basis with many key Congressmen, the professor quickly became an influential figure, a frequent visitor to the White House and Capitol Hill. An avid Red Sox (baseball team) fan who is more likely to wear an expensive suit than a loose-fitting traditional shalwar kamiz, Haqqani captivated US audiences with speeches about Pakistans woes. But his role in Washington has long caused consternation among those who say he is out of touch with Pakistan and too American in his point of view. Although his wife, a former CNN producer, holds a seat in Pakistans Parliament, Haqqani hasnt returned to Islamabad for eight months, the dispatch added. Many Pakistanis say that they think he is too close to Washington, that he has spent too much time outside the country, that he doesnt understand the demands of the Pakistani people, said Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who said complaints about Haqqani came up frequently during his meetings in Pakistan last week. Haqqanis failure to predict or prepare for the outrage in Pakistan over the language in Kerrys aid package may be an example of that, Markey said. The Embassy should have known that some people were going to try to make hay of it, and headed that off in advance. But Samina Ahmed, an Islamabad-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, said the attacks on Haqqani were carefully orchestrated by the military to weaken the government he represents. She predicted more will come. These are the first rumblings of the storm, she was quoted as saying. This is the beginning of the military trying to take down this civilian government.