BIO NOTES: NEW PAKISTANI DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 003289 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/B E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2016 TAGS: PREL PINR IN PK CH NZ SUBJECT: BIO NOTES: NEW PAKISTANI DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER TO DELHI AFRASIAB REF: 04 NEW DELHI 8181 Classified By: DCM Robert Blake, Jr. for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (U) The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on May 4 informed Post of the arrival of Mohammad Afrasiab, previously Minister (Political) at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing, as their new Deputy High Commissioner. (NOTE: In his CV and nearly all press references, Afrasiab uses only his family name. END NOTE.) Outgoing Deputy High Commissioner Munawar Saeed has been named Pakistan's first High Commissioner to New Zealand. Afrasiab's CV, as provided by the Pakistani High Commission, follows. ¶2. (SBU) Begin CV: Education: Lawrence College, Ghora Gali, Murree, and Government College, Lahore. Joined Pakistan Foreign Service in 1984. Professional Background: -- 1986-87: Desk Officer for the United States, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. -- 1987-91: Third Secretary/Second Secretary (Political), Embassy of Pakistan, Washington DC. -- 1991-92: Desk Officer for the United States, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. -- 1992-94: Staff Officer to the Secretary-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. -- 1994: Desk Officer for the United Nations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. -- 1994-97: First Secretary (Political),High Commission for Pakistan, New Delhi. -- 1997-2000: Alternate Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Permanent Mission of Pakistan, Vienna, and First Secretary (Political) and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Pakistan, Vienna. -- 2000-02: Director for Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. -- 2002-03: Director for Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. -- 2003-06: Counselor (Political),Embassy of Pakistan, Beijing. -- 2006 - Present: Minister/Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission for Pakistan, New Delhi. Publications: -- US Relations with South Asia (since Christopher Columbus) and Pakistan-India Interaction (1492-2002),published by Worldmate, Islamabad (559 pages; First Edition April 2002, Second Edition July 2002). -- Articles on: US Foreign Service; Functioning of the US Congress; China; Face-Reading; and Theology Courses/Seminars: -- December 1988: Course on "Structure and Functioning of the US Congress" in Washington, DC, arranged by the Asia Foundation. -- November 1990: Course on "US Senate and its Interaction with the Department of State" in Washington, DC. -- January-February 2003: Completed a two-month course on "International Relations and US Foreign Policy" in NEW DELHI 00003289 002 OF 002 Washington, DC, organized by the US National Defense University. Comment -------------- ¶3. (C) Based on Afrasiab's CV and what we understand about staffing patterns and priorities in the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Afrasiab appears to be a strog candidate for a future senior return posting to the US, either to Washington or to the Pakistan Mission to the UN in New York. During his May 11 courtesy call on the DCM and PolCouns he demonstrated his deep knowledge of how the USG operates, which his multiple US-related postings would suggest. For example, Afrasiab was Desk Officer for the US when Ambassador Arnold Raphel was posted to Islamabad, and he recalls Ambassador Powell from her Pakistan tours as well. ¶4. (C) Afrasiab has a more formal demeanor than his predecessor. A Qureshi, he hails from Muzzafargarh in Pakistani Punjab. Afrasiab during his courtesy call demonstrated a hard focus on what he called "the core issue" between India and Pakistan (i.e. a territorial agreement regarding Jammu and Kashmir, which from his perspective would favor Islamabad). ¶5. (C) Pakistan High Commission First Secretary Khalid Jamali noted to Poloff that Afrasiab was coming to New Delhi at a time of high turnover at the High Commission. In addition to most of their Political Section rotating out (Jamali to Islamabad),High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan (Reftel) would complete his tour by August. Jamali said he has not yet heard who will replace Aziz. ¶6. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: (http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) MULFORD