MUMBAI BLASTS: BROAD CONDEMNATION IN PAKISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 013519

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER PK IN PREL
SUBJECT: MUMBAI BLASTS: BROAD CONDEMNATION IN PAKISTAN


ISLAMABAD 00013519 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Derived from DSCG 05-01, d


1. (C) Summary. Pakistani leaders and politicians have
been unanimous in their condemnation of the July 11 Mumbai
bombing, with the Foreign Ministry issuing a strong statement
within hours of the attack that cited both President
Musharraf and the Prime Minister Aziz. On July 13, President
Musharraf offered Pakistani assistance in the investigation
into the attacks. An ill-advised formulation by Foreign
Minister Kasuri, associating the attack with the need for
progress in the peace process, has unfortunately overshadowed
these statements. The MFA remains hopeful, perhaps
unrealistically so, that the attack will not unduly rock the
bilateral relationship. There are no outward indications of
apprehension in the Pakistani military. End Summary.

Government Condemns Blasts
--------------


2. (U) GOP officials were quick to condemn the Mumbai
blasts. Within three hours of the attack, the MFA had issued
a statement saying: "Pakistan strongly condemns the series of
bomb blasts on commuter trains in Mumbai, India. This
despicable act of terrorism has resulted in the loss of a
large number of precious lives. The President and Prime
Minister of Pakistan have also strongly condemned this
terrorist attack and have expressed condolences over the loss
of innocent lives. Terrorism is a bane of our times and it
must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and
comprehensively."


3. (U) Unfortunately, this admirably clear statement was
quickly buried when Foreign Minister Kasuri made remarks that
linked the blasts to the lack of progress in resolving
"regional disputes." Kasuri, who was visiting Washington,
gave an interview with Reuters on the day of the attack as
reports of rising casualties were coming in. Told that the
number had risen to 135, Kasuri termed it "horrific.
Absolutely horrendous....One hundred and thirty five is
terrible and of course we strongly condemn this." When
Kasuri was subsequently asked whether to expect Pak-Indian
talks to produce further confidence building measures, he
responded that it was a question of political will and
leadership, which was especially necessary in the wake of
incidents like the Mumbai blasts. He then went on to
speculate that resolution of disputes would "improve the
atmosphere against this climate of uncertainty and
terrorism...because negative forces will be denied all
motives, and will not be able to recruit people to their
cause. So I think the Mumbai incident -- however tragic it
may be, and it is undoubtedly very tragic -- underlines the
need for the two countries to work together to control this
environment, but they can only do so if they resolve their
disputes."


4. (U) In the wake of strong negative reaction in India to
these remarks, the GOP has issued further strong
condemnations of the attack as well as clarifications
intended to deny that Kasuri had made any linkage between the
attacks and bilateral disputes. On July 12, the Foreign
Ministry issued a press release saying that Kasuri's remarks
were misreported and that his denunciations of the bombings
had been emphatic and unequivocal. Kasuri himself, as he
prepared to leave Washington, blamed the bombings on "those
who oppose the peace process," and complained that it was
"unfair" for India to "attribute all acts of lawlessness and
violence to Pakistan."


5. (U) President Musharraf, in televised remarks on July 13,
said "whosoever has done this cannot be pardoned at all," and
added "I assure Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the
Pakistan government and I myself are with him in any
investigation he wants to carry out."

ISLAMABAD 00013519 002.2 OF 003



MFA Hopeful Blasts Won't Derail Peace Initiatives
-------------- --------------


6. (U) MFA DG for South Asia, Jalil Abbas Jilani on July 14,
praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement following
the blast as "remarkable" and quoted Indian Home Minister
Shivraj Patil as saying that terrorists were the enemies of
peace and should not be allowed to delay the peace process.
It was a "very mature" statement, Jilani said. He remained
hopeful that the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India
and Pakistan (the conclusion of third round of the Composite
Dialogue) would take place as scheduled on July 21-22 -- but
the MFA had received mixed signals. On the one hand,
Pakistan's Foreign Secretary had held a good telephonic
planning session on July 12, but on the other, Pakistan's
mission in New Delhi had been rebuffed on July 12 when trying
to gain the MEA's consent to formally issue the dates for the
talks. There was also considerable speculation in the Indian
media that the talks would be postponed. Jilani explained
that this was the context for the MFA spokesperson's remarks
on July 12: "If India feels that these talks should be
postponed to a later date, we can go along with that ...We
understand the big tragedy. We will wait for India's
convenience."

Indian Diplomats Angered by Kasuri Comments
--------------


7. (C) At a diplomatic function July 12, the Indian Deputy
High Commissioner was openly outraged by Kasuri's linkage of
the bombings with bilateral disputes. In the presence of
numerous guests, he termed it "stupid" and "not at all
helpful." At the same time, he appeared to appreciate the
condolences offered by numerous eminent Pakistanis at the
event. In a separate bilateral meeting with Polcouns, the
Indian High Commission Political Counselor acknowledged that
official contacts were continuing in preparation for next
week's Composite Dialogue talks. He noted that virtually
every significant Pakistani political figure -- both in and
out of government -- had condemned the attacks.

The Press and the Political Parties
--------------


8. (U) The Mumbai attacks have received extensive and
sympathetic coverage in the Pakistani media, though in some
papers (particularly the Urdu papers) there has been a
tendency to see the blasts as evidence that the two countries
need to work harder to resolve their differences. Both
English and Urdu papers commend India for its restraint
following the attacks.


9. (U) Political leaders from almost every party have
condemned the attacks both privately and publicly. The first
off the block was the MQM, which issued a statement on July
11 from Altaf Hussain calling the bombing a "cowardly act of
open terrorism." (Note: the MQM is a party that represents
the interests of Urdu-speaking immigrants from India.) The
Pakistan People's Party and the Awami National Party have
also made strong statements. JUI(F) leader, Maulana Fazlur
Rahman condemned the attacks during a TV program, and sent a
condolence letter to the Indian High Commission. Jamiaat
Islami (JI) leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad has not issued any
public statement, to our knowledge, though a lesser JI
official has told us that indeed JI condemns the bombing.

The Military
--------------


10. (C) We have not sounded out Pakistani military leaders,
but DAO reports that outward appearances suggest the
military, like the MFA, is not unduly alarmed about serious

ISLAMABAD 00013519 003.2 OF 003


fallout in the bilateral relationship. There are no
indications that anyone in the security establishment
anticipates the kinds of tensions that followed the 2001
attack on the Indian Parliament. We have observed no unusual
activity at Chaklala airbase. Vice Chief of Army staff Ehsan
is scheduled to visit the UK over the weekend. The Deputy
DGMO, BG Nasser, was planning to visit Afghanistan, and the
Chief of Naval Staff, Adm. Tahir is in Bahrain.





CROCKER