BOUCHER'S FOREIGN MINISTRY DISCUSSIONS FOCUS ON CURRENT EVENTS, STRATEGIC DIALOGUE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 002780

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017

TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PHUM, ECON, PK, AF, IN

SUBJECT: BOUCHER,S FOREIGN MINISTRY DISCUSSIONS FOCUS ON

CURRENT EVENTS, STRATEGIC DIALOGUE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: On June 15, Assistant Secretary for South

and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher met separately with

Foreign Minister Kasuri, Foreign Secretary Khan, Additional

Secretary for the Americas Shahid Kamal, and other Ministry

SIPDIS

officials. The discussions focused on the U.S.-Pakistan

Strategic Dialogue and relations with Afghanistan and India.

On the Strategic Dialogue, Pakistani officials noted progress

on the energy, education, and science and technology pillars,

but believe there is still some work to do establishing the

economic pillar. On Pak-Afghan relations, they reported signs

of progress despite interpersonal tensions at the top. On

Pakistan,s relations with India, the various Pakistani

officials showed cautious optimism. Finally, in discussing

current domestic events in Pakistan, Kasuri stated the

Government of Pakistan would support the Supreme Court,s

ruling in the reference against the Chief Justice and would

remain committed to freedom of the press. End Summary.

Kasuri,s thoughts on the Chief Justice

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2. (C) Kasuri stated the Government of Pakistan would

support the Supreme Court,s ruling on the reference against

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. He conveyed complaints Post

has heard from several other government officials: a) the

Chief Justice was &promoting8 himself by feeding on the

media,s close attention to his case; b) the Chief Justice,s

newfound popularity was eroding the separation of power

between the judicial and executive branches; and c) the

decision to file the reference against the Chief Justice had

been made in part because the government was concerned over

the Chief Justice,s role in canceling privatization plans,

including one for Pakistan Steel.

An independent media

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3. (C) Kasuri was pleased Musharraf had withdrawn proposed

amendments to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory

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Authority ordinance that would have placed restrictions on

press freedoms. According to Kasuri, when Musharraf realized

the restrictions would tarnish his legacy of promoting free

expression, he asked the Prime Minister to announce

withdrawal of the amendments. Kasuri said the government was

frustrated by &irresponsible8 news reporting of the Chief

Justice,s case and related protests, but understood the

media needed to be given time to develop independent

regulatory mechanisms.

Strategic Dialogue

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4. (C) During a lunch with several Ministry officials,

Boucher and Additional Secretary Shahid Kamal agreed that,

although a formal round of the Strategic Dialogue had not

been held for several months, the two countries had

maintained ongoing strategic discussions thanks to frequent

high-level visits from both sides. The two officials

reviewed progress on the four pillars of the Dialogue

(education; science and technology; energy; and economics)

and agreed to explore how to invigorate the economic pillar,

hopefully holding a round of the dialogue in October or

November. Boucher promised he would work with the

appropriate officials in Washington to set a date in that

timeframe. Kamal said Pakistan looked forward to accepting a

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delegation of U.S. university presidents as part of the

education pillar, and both officials noted particular

progress in science and technology and energy discussions.

Pakistan on the Hill

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5. (C) Kamal reiterated Pakistan,s concern over language in

House Resolution 1 (the 9/11 bill) that called for

certification of Pakistan,s efforts in the War on Terror.

Boucher assured Kamal the U.S. Administration continued to

emphasize to Congress the negative impact such legislation

would have on the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. Boucher noted

the good work Ambassador Durrani was doing, stressed the

importance of continuing discussions between members of

Congress and visiting Pakistani officials and also noted

positive feedback from the visit of Chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff General Ehsan ul Haq.

6. (C) Kamal was pleased the U.S. Congress recently approved

USD 110 million for development in the Federally Administered

Tribal Areas. He also asked for an update on potential

legislation authorizing the establishment of Reconstruction

Opportunity Zones on the Northwest Frontier Province border

with Tribal Areas; he said Pakistani officials recently spoke

to European public and private figures about investment

opportunities should the Zones be approved. Boucher assured

Kamal the legislation remained a top priority of the U.S.

Administration.

Tribal Areas and Afghanistan

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7. (C) Turning to the border areas and Afghanistan,

Additional Secretary for Afghanistan Khalid Khattak noted

positive trends in the Pak-Afghan relationship. While

Presidents Musharraf and Karzai did not necessarily enjoy a

warm relationship, they had met in Ankara in late April and

agreed to a substantive joint statement that included

follow-up steps. Both leaders, Khattak said, appreciated the

importance of a stronger government-to-government

relationship. (Note: Foreign Secretary Khan told Boucher he

would meet his Afghan counterpart in Ankara the first week of

July ) it would be the first follow-up meeting to the April

30 trilateral. End Note.)

8. (C) According to both Foreign Secretary Khan and Khattak,

some of the recent exchanges of gunfire between Pak and

Afghan forces on the border had occurred because the two

sides were working from different maps, which made it unclear

whether some border posts were in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Pakistani and Afghan leaders were open, Khattak said, to

resolving these minor border disputes at the field commander

level instead of engaging in a public (and politically

sensitive) discussion on formally demarcating the border.

Khattak added the two countries, economic commissions hoped

to meet in July. &All of this is practical,8 Khattak said,

&and practical talk between our peoples is good.8

9. (C) Turning to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas,

Khattak believed strongly that increased economic

opportunities would help defeat militancy and extremism.

According to Khattak, tribes in North and South Waziristan

agencies had not yet embraced the idea of small businesses;

in other areas such as Khyber and Orakzai, small businesses

had flourished starting in the 1950s and 60s, which helped

explain why these agencies were relatively more peaceful.

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Composite Dialogue in &slow mode8

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10. (C) According to Khan, the Pak-India Composite Dialogue

was in &slow mode.8 Khan said April talks on Siachen

Glacier were &disappointing;8 he believed Indian officials

at the talks did not have a mandate to negotiate and were

instructed instead to restate old positions. In May, the two

sides exchanged Sir Creek maps. Hydrologists and surveyors

were narrowing remaining differences. Khan believed policy

suggestions on Sir Creek made at the technical level would be

raised to the political level for further negotiation. While

the Sir Creek dispute did not resonate strongly with the

public, Khan believed its resolution would help debunk the

Pakistani public,s notion that it was impossible to resolve

difficult disputes with India. Khan considered Kashmir &a

long way8 from resolution; he stressed Pakistan,s

leadership saw no way forward with India but peace through

dialogue. Kashmir would remain part of on-going strategic

discussions between the two countries, leaders.

11. (C) According to Khan, the initial Anti-Terror Mechanism

meeting in March did not result in productive intelligence

sharing. He was pleased, however, that India had started

focusing ) both in public and in private ) on how to

address domestic sources of extremism and terrorism.

Regional Integration ) Almaty to Karachi

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12. (C) Boucher and Khan discussed prospects for regional

economic integration. Boucher emphasized Pakistan would act

as a critical link between Central Asian energy and goods and

Indian markets; he added that a highway from Almaty to

Karachi could reopen natural trade routes. Khan agreed and

stated the economic potential of integration with Central

Asian economies made security in Afghanistan all the more

important to Pakistan,s long-term stability and prosperity.

BODDE

BOUCHER'S FOREIGN MINISTRY DISCUSSIONS FOCUS ON CURRENT EVENTS, STRATEGIC DIALOGUE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

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