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