VERBAL ATTACKS BY AFGHAN PRESIDENT WEARING ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 022479 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2016 TAGS: AF MOPS PK PREL PTER SUBJECT: VERBAL ATTACKS BY AFGHAN PRESIDENT WEARING ON PAKISTANI NERVES REF: ISLAMABAD Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C.Crocker, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Summary: A series of public statements by Afghan President Karzai accusing Pakistan of fomenting instability and violence in Afghanistan have deeply irritated Pakistani officials and popular opinion generally. Although official statements in response have thus far been restrained, Pakistani patience with Karzai's verbal assaults is very thin. End summary. ¶2. (U) A steady stream of media reports over the past week quoting President Karzai's negative public remarks about Pakistan are seriously testing the patience of Pakistani officials, from President Musharraf on down. Pakistani media has widely covered -- and deplored -- President Karzai's inflammatory statements, including that Pakistan seeks to enslave Afghanistan; that a spate of suicide bombings were intended to intimidate Karzai in advance of Pakistani Foreign Minister Kasuri's December 7-9 visit to Kabul; that the government of Pakistan is responsible for "tyranny" against the Afghan people; that that Pakistan is "more than a boss to the Taliban"; etc. ¶3. (U) To date, Pakistani officials have exercised restraint in their public response. President Musharraf, speaking following a December 14 meeting with the Norwegian Foreign Minister, expressed concern for the law and order situation in Afghanistan, calling on the international community to ensure peace and stability in the country; he then noted that Pakistan is cooperating with the Afghan government to the extent possible, regretting that Kabul responds by blaming Pakistan for interference and creating instability. Taking questions from journalists on December 13, Foreign Minister Kasuri refused to comment on Karzai's statement that Pakistan is the boss of the Taliban, urging instead that Kabul speak to Islamabad directly, rather than through the media. In a November 13 PTV interview, MFA Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam suggested that President Karzai should focus his attention on solving internal problems instead of leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan, observing that peace in Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan. At a December 14 seminar on Pak-Afghan relations, Senator and PML General Secretary Mushahid Hussain Sayed called on Afghanistan to end the blame game. Other conference participants -- drawn from parliament, civil society and senior editors -- argued that both countries should resolve this differences directly. Even the editor of Pakistan's leading (and independent) Pashtun-language current affairs show told poloff that he was furious over President Karzai's insults, condemning the comments as "un-Pashtun." ¶4. (C) The moderated tone of these Pakistani officials cloaks a deeper, potentially destructive frustration with the readiness with which Karzai has resorted to accusing Pakistan of hostile intentions towards its neighbor. In a December 13 briefing to EU diplomats on his Kabul visit, Foreign Minister Kasuri suggested that he might have been inclined to consider agreeing to Pakistani participation in President Karzai's envisioned national unity jirga (reftel) -- an event many Pakistani officials have dismissed as little more than a photo op -- but for President Karzai's incendiary accusations following Kasuri's return to Islamabad. National Security Advisor Tariq Aziz told the Ambassador on December 14 that he and Presidential Chief of Staff Hamid Javaid have counseled an infuriated President Musharraf to not to respond to Karzai's comments in kind. The President has heeded their ISLAMABAD 00022479 002 OF 002 guidance thus far, but according to Aziz, Musharraf's temper makes a retaliatory salvo increasingly likely. The Ambassador stressed the importance of continued restraint. ¶5. (C) Comment: Karzai's critical remarks -- however well received by Afghan audiences -- have a highly corrosive effect here. Ironically, anger over criticism from Karzai seems to be one of the very few issues on which Pakistanis seem to be united. The normally sharply divided and fractious Pakistani media has been virtually unanimous in its condemnation of Karzai's comments. None of it helps our efforts to promote cross-border initiatives to build trust and normalize relations between these two neighbors -- parallel jirgas, parliamentary exchanges, cooperation on border security, etc. CROCKER