NGO HOSTS POL PARTIES ON THE QT TO DISCUSS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000115

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PK
SUBJECT: NGO HOSTS POL PARTIES ON THE QT TO DISCUSS
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT

REF: ISLAMABAD 12265

ISLAMABAD 00000115 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Summary: On December 22, The Asia Foundation's
Pakistan office convened a multiparty dialogue to discuss how
political parties can assist democratic development with the
goal of making some concrete recommendations ahead of
upcoming parliamentary elections. The session was meant to be
low profile, and although high-level participants from
Pakistan's major mainstream parties attended, there was no
media coverage of the event. Participants deemed the event a
success. They also agreed to meet again to continue the
dialogue. The Asia Foundation has high hopes, especially
given President Musharraf's support of the process. At the
moment, the dialogue is filling a hole left by Pakistan's
Election Commission, which has not yet convened the parties
for any substantive engagement on what preparations should be
made to help ensure a transparent election process. End
Summary.

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Political Party Officials Discuss Democracy...Together
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2. (C) On December 22, The Asia Foundation's Pakistan office
convened the first of what it hopes will be a series of
multiparty dialogues to discuss what political parties can do
to assist democratic development. Organizers initiated the
process by posing strategic questions to generate discussion
on Pakistan's weak institutions. One of the goals of the
meeting was to use the dialogue to make concrete
recommendations to help improve the prospects for more
transparent parliamentary elections.


3. (C) High-level participants from Pakistan's major
mainstream parties attended, including the ruling Pakistan
Muslim League (PML) Secretary General Senator Mushahid
Hussain Sayed, ruling coalition member Muttahida Quami
Movement (MQM) Minister of Ports and Shipping Babar Khan
Ghauri, opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)
former Minister of Finance Senator Sartaj Aziz, and
opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Secretary General
Raja Pervez Ashraf.


4. (C) The three-and-a-half hour session -- that received no
media coverage -- focused on two topics: (1) What does "free
and fair" mean in terms of elections? and (2) What role
should Pakistan's institutions (including the military) play
in elections? To frame the discussion, The Asia Foundation
brought in outside experts, including keynote speaker
Hasan-Askari Rizvi, a civil-military relations expert (and
the 2006-7 Annual Pakistan Studies Scholar at John Hopkins
University's School of Advanced International Studies); LTG
(retired) Talat Masood; Dr. Mohammad Wasim (author of two
books on elections); and Professor Tahir Amin (International
Relations Department, Qaid-e-Azam University).

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Make Some Initial Recommendations...
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5. (C) The Asia Foundation Country Representative Hamid
Sharif told poloffs that participants deemed the session a
success and agreed on a number of election-related issues.
The draft recommendations are still being transcribed, but
once they are finished The Asia Foundation staff will
circulate them to the participants. Program Officer
Shahnawaz Mahmood told poloff he hopes the parties will

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decide to forward consensus recommendations to the Election
Commission of Pakistan, but that is a step that the parties
will have to take for themselves.

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...And Then Ask To Meet Again
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6. (C) At the end of the session, Senator Mushahid Hussain
suggested that the group meet again to continue the
discussion about institutions and civil-military relations
(the next meeting is scheduled for February 10). Sharif said
that he is optimistic about the prospects for future
meetings, especially if they continue to happen outside the
media's gaze. The low-profile environment, Sherif said, was a
crucial element in generating real dialogue, rather than
providing a platform for re-hashing stale political rhetoric.
(Note: Sharif noted that most participants -- high-profile
politicians who never met a press photographer they didn't
like -- were stunned to find no/no media coverage of the
event. As the dialogue progressed, however, they saw the
utility of the low-profile strategy. End Note.)

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Musharraf Gives Two Thumbs Up
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7. (C) Sharif said he discussed the Asia Foundation
initiative, which is co-funded by a number of donors,
recently with President Musharraf. The President was
supportive and said that the chosen candidates were a good
group to initiate discussion. Musharraf also promised to
encourage former Secretary of Defense Lieutenant General
(Retired) Hamid Nawaz Khan to attend the next session to help
participants come up with realistic solutions. Another key to
success, Sherif said, will be enticing a greater number of
influential representatives from the ruling Pakistan Muslim
League to attend.

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Dialogue Could Unstick Important Unresolved Issues
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8. (C) Comment: Interparty dialogue is a critical
prerequisite to improving the election process. This is not
the first time we have seen the seeds of agreement. At a
June 2006 dinner hosted by Ambassador Crocker (reftel),
high-level representatives from both the ruling and
opposition parties agreed on some basics: a free and fair
process, a level playing ground for all parties, an Election
Commission deemed strong and independent, a joint code of
conduct, and the need to avoid political victimization of
their opposition in the future.


9. (C) Comment, cont.: For the interparty dialogue at the
Asia Foundation to meaningfully address long-standing
election issues that are prickly and solvable, but stuck, the
institutional venue for finally resolving such issues -- the
Election Commission of Pakistan -- must function. Clearly,
one of the most pressing issues from our perspective is that
political parties and the Election Commission clearly do not
know how to talk to one another to solve substantive
problems. The forum may find a way to bridge that divide and
post continues to press the Election Commission to engage
with political parties. Whether the Asia Foundation is
successful in encouraging the political parties to do any of
this will depend on its skill as a moderator and the
political parties' willingness to engage in a meaningful way
-- especially the ruling Pakistan Muslim League. Post will
continue to do what we can to support the process. End
Comment.
CROCKER