BIO NOTES: THE (PAKISTANI) AMBASSADORS AKRAM

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 003417 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/B E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2015 TAGS: PREL PINR IN PK NP SZ SUBJECT: BIO NOTES: THE (PAKISTANI) AMBASSADORS AKRAM Classified By: D/PolCouns Atul Keshap for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Pakistan High Commission (New Delhi) Counselor Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, a frequent Poloff interlocutor, shared with Poloff his impressions of Pakistani Ambassadors Munir and Zamir Akram. Qazi worked for Munir for five years in Geneva (probably 1995-2000),and for Zamir for several months (Qazi did not mention in what capacity). Munir, who is currently Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN (New York),is to remain on contract to the MFA for about another year, Qazi said; he speculated that Zamir, now on loan to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz' office, may be a candidate for Ambassador to the US in the next several years. End Summary. Munir: "A Great Boss" -------------- ¶2. (C) Qazi called Munir "a great boss" and ticked off his positive qualities in rapid succession: very smart, a fast read ("able to plow through the longest and densest UN documents"),a workaholic who expects a lot from his staff but no less of himself. Qazi described Munir as one of Pakistan's most adept senior diplomats and "probably the best diplomat anywhere at working the multilateral system." ¶3. (C) According to Qazi, Munir has a lighter side as well. He gives his officers wide latitude, issuing broad instructions in the morning and asking only for a progress report at the end of the day. "He also suffers fools lightly," Qazi claimed as a self-depricating aside. Zamir: Not as Smart, But On Track for Greater Things -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Munir's younger brother Zamir is not as smart or effective, nor as driven, as his older sibling, according to Qazi, but Qazi suggested that a direct comparison short-changes Zamir. Qazi noted that Zamir's career path -- DCM in Washington, Ambassador to Kathmandu, and now the MFA billet in the Prime Minister's Office -- positions the younger Akram well for an eventual jump to one of the top-tier ambassadorial posts in the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, Washington. It may not be Zamir's next assignment, Qazi cautioned, but he was convinced Zamir would be competitive for that posting within the next five years or so. Bio-Notes: Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi -------------- ¶5. (C) Zamir's fortunes are of particular interest to Qazi; Qazi will depart New Delhi this summer for his next posting in Washington with his wife (Shaza Syrus) and two children (daughter born 1998, son Omar born 1999). Qazi and his wife both originally trained as physicians; they both were was probably born in the 1960s. His known prior postings include: -- Approximately 1995-2000: Office of Pakistan PermRep to the UN/Geneva (under Ambassador Munir Akram). Qazi says he worked for Munir for five years; the dates correspond to Munir's known tenure in Geneva. -- February 7, 2005 - June/July 2006: Pakistan High Commission to India, New Delhi. His short tour may have been due to staffing up the HC in New Delhi; First Secretary Muhammad Khalid Jamali (a distant cousin of the former Pakistani PM) introduced Syrus as among the last batch of diplomats to bring HC staffing to its pre-2002 level of 110. -- Summer 2006 - ?: Pakistan Embassy in US, Washington -- Syrus also worked for Zamir for approximately four months . Syrus did not specify the dates or post. ¶6. (C) Syrus's wife Shaza has at least two brothers, "both married off in January (2006)," and no sisters. ¶7. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: (http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) MULFORD