Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ISLAMABAD2795
2007-06-23 05:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OPPOSITION SUBMITS REFERENCE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 002795
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV ECON KCRM PK UK
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OPPOSITION SUBMITS REFERENCE
AGAINST PRIME MINISTER
REF: ISLAMABAD 2546
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 002795
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV ECON KCRM PK UK
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OPPOSITION SUBMITS REFERENCE
AGAINST PRIME MINISTER
REF: ISLAMABAD 2546
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)
1. (C) Summary: On June 21, opposition National Assembly
members submitted a disqualification reference (complaint)
against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for financial misconduct.
The reference comes on the heels of a similar reference
against political leader (and former cricket star) Imran
Khan, who has taken a very public stand against MQM leader
and government partner Altaf Hussain. (Khan, like many
Pakistanis, blames the MQM for the outbreak of political
violence in Karachi in May.) The reference against the Prime
Minister appears to be political retaliation for the
reference against Khan, but the nature of the charges in the
reference have been fodder for the Pakistani rumor mill for
months. End Summary.
--------------
Opposition Parliamentarians Allege Prime
Minister Unfit to Serve in Parliament
--------------
2. (U) On June 21, in the midst of annual budget hearings,
opposition National Assembly members presented a
disqualification reference against Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz. The opposition members asked National Assembly Speaker
Chaudhry Amir Hussain to consider the reference in the same
light as the one the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) submitted
against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader (and former cricket
star) Imran Khan on June 20. (Note: The reference against the
former playboy charged that he fathered an illegitimate
child. End Note.)
3. (U) The opposition's reference alleges that Aziz
"engineered" the 2005 Karachi stock exchange crash. It
claims that, after the crash, Aziz's business associates
"enriched themselves at the cost of the public at large
through fraud, forgery and manipulation." The reference also
cites Aziz's involvement in the attempt to privatize Pakistan
Steel Mills, a privatization plan which some believe would
have enriched associates of the Prime Minister. Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court Chaudhry eventually blocked the
privatization scheme.
4. (C) One opposition member who helped draft the reference
told POLOFF June 20 that the reference sheet includes the
accusation that the Prime Minister holds dual U.S.-Pakistani
nationality, contrary to constitutional prohibitions on dual
citizenship for senior officials. The member said that the
drafters almost included another charge referring to
allegations he once "flirted" with Secretary Rice during an
official meeting.
--------------
Leading PML Politician
Saw It Coming
--------------
5. (C) Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid
Hussain told POLOFF June 20 that the National Assembly
speaker never should have accepted the original reference
against Imran Khan, since it could spark a rash of similar
references. "Everyone in the National Assembly could be
accused of something," he said. Indeed, some opposition
members have vowed to file additional references against
members of the ruling coalition, including Pakistan Muslim
ISLAMABAD 00002795 002 OF 002
League Chairman Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who allegedly took
out loans that he did not repay and were subsequently
forgiven.
--------------
Comment
--------------
6. (C) The specific charges in the Prime Minister's reference
have been the focus of speculation and debate for some
months. One prevalent rumor is that the Prime Minister is
working against passage of an anti-money laundering bill
because he worries his actions during the Karachi Stock
Exchange could be further investigated under such
legislation. Other rumors involve his encouraging the
suspension of Chief Justice Chaudhry out of anger over the
scuttling the steel privatization plan. Merited or not,
though, it is clear the June 21 reference was politically
based. Opposition parties know that Imran Khan's popularity
has increased since he began his public crusade against the
MQM. By filing a reference designed to support Khan, the
opposition hopes to gain from the current anti-MQM sentiment
in much of the country.
BODDE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV ECON KCRM PK UK
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OPPOSITION SUBMITS REFERENCE
AGAINST PRIME MINISTER
REF: ISLAMABAD 2546
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)
1. (C) Summary: On June 21, opposition National Assembly
members submitted a disqualification reference (complaint)
against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for financial misconduct.
The reference comes on the heels of a similar reference
against political leader (and former cricket star) Imran
Khan, who has taken a very public stand against MQM leader
and government partner Altaf Hussain. (Khan, like many
Pakistanis, blames the MQM for the outbreak of political
violence in Karachi in May.) The reference against the Prime
Minister appears to be political retaliation for the
reference against Khan, but the nature of the charges in the
reference have been fodder for the Pakistani rumor mill for
months. End Summary.
--------------
Opposition Parliamentarians Allege Prime
Minister Unfit to Serve in Parliament
--------------
2. (U) On June 21, in the midst of annual budget hearings,
opposition National Assembly members presented a
disqualification reference against Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz. The opposition members asked National Assembly Speaker
Chaudhry Amir Hussain to consider the reference in the same
light as the one the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) submitted
against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader (and former cricket
star) Imran Khan on June 20. (Note: The reference against the
former playboy charged that he fathered an illegitimate
child. End Note.)
3. (U) The opposition's reference alleges that Aziz
"engineered" the 2005 Karachi stock exchange crash. It
claims that, after the crash, Aziz's business associates
"enriched themselves at the cost of the public at large
through fraud, forgery and manipulation." The reference also
cites Aziz's involvement in the attempt to privatize Pakistan
Steel Mills, a privatization plan which some believe would
have enriched associates of the Prime Minister. Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court Chaudhry eventually blocked the
privatization scheme.
4. (C) One opposition member who helped draft the reference
told POLOFF June 20 that the reference sheet includes the
accusation that the Prime Minister holds dual U.S.-Pakistani
nationality, contrary to constitutional prohibitions on dual
citizenship for senior officials. The member said that the
drafters almost included another charge referring to
allegations he once "flirted" with Secretary Rice during an
official meeting.
--------------
Leading PML Politician
Saw It Coming
--------------
5. (C) Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid
Hussain told POLOFF June 20 that the National Assembly
speaker never should have accepted the original reference
against Imran Khan, since it could spark a rash of similar
references. "Everyone in the National Assembly could be
accused of something," he said. Indeed, some opposition
members have vowed to file additional references against
members of the ruling coalition, including Pakistan Muslim
ISLAMABAD 00002795 002 OF 002
League Chairman Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who allegedly took
out loans that he did not repay and were subsequently
forgiven.
--------------
Comment
--------------
6. (C) The specific charges in the Prime Minister's reference
have been the focus of speculation and debate for some
months. One prevalent rumor is that the Prime Minister is
working against passage of an anti-money laundering bill
because he worries his actions during the Karachi Stock
Exchange could be further investigated under such
legislation. Other rumors involve his encouraging the
suspension of Chief Justice Chaudhry out of anger over the
scuttling the steel privatization plan. Merited or not,
though, it is clear the June 21 reference was politically
based. Opposition parties know that Imran Khan's popularity
has increased since he began his public crusade against the
MQM. By filing a reference designed to support Khan, the
opposition hopes to gain from the current anti-MQM sentiment
in much of the country.
BODDE