ATTORNEY GENERAL REVIEWS CURRENT EVENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 004786

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PK AEMR AMGT CASC KFLO PINR
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL REVIEWS CURRENT EVENTS

REF: A. ISLAMABAD 4766

B. ISLAMABAD 4728

Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (C) Summary: Attorney General Qayyum told Ambassador
November 7 that Musharraf would announce parliamentary
elections once his own re-election was confirmed by the newly
reconstituted Supreme Court. (Note: In the course of the
evening of November 7, we heard three entirely different
versions of Musharraf's plans for elections from cabinet
ministers.) He predicted that a full, reconstituted Supreme
Court would re-hear Musharraf's candidate eligibility case
next week. Musharraf would resign as Chief of Army Staff
soon after taking the presidential oath, but probably not by
November 15. Qayyum promised action in the next few weeks to
release jailed human rights activists and anti-government
lawyers. He confirmed that all three former Supreme Court
justices who were responsible for restoring Islamabad's
extremist Red Mosque leadership were now part of the
reconstituted court. End summary.

Elections and the Uniform
--------------


2. (C) Pakistan's Attorney General Malik Qayyum requested to
meet with the Ambassador late November 7. He said that
Musharraf would call parliamentary elections once his own
re-election was confirmed by the Supreme Court. This might
be possible by mid-February. The government currently has
convinced nine justices to serve on the newly reconstituted
Supreme Court and is currently attempting to lure two more.
The full 11-justice bench would then hear Musharraf's
candidate eligibility case, probably early next week, and
would hear arguments for about five days.


3. (C) Only once Musharraf took the oath of office would he
resign as Chief of Army Staff (COAS),Qayyum claimed. He
warned, however, that all of these steps "may not be
completed by November 15," but believed the end of the month
would be a reasonable target. (Note: Post heard three
different election scenarios last night (Nov 7) from cabinet
ministers.)

Dissenting Voice
--------------


4. (C) Qayyum attempted to clarify his own role in advising
against many of the government's recent heavy-handed
measures. He said that (former) Supreme Court justices under
house arrest would be free to return to their home towns by
November 8. He claimed the house arrests were an
overreaction to the Chief Justice's impromptu attempt
November 3 to declare the Provisional Constitutional Order
(PCO) illegal.


5. (C) Concerning the mass arrest of lawyers and human rights
activists, Qayyum said Musharraf had approved these actions
on bad advice from "people more loyal than the king." Qayyum
claimed he was forming a list of human rights activists who
should be released immediately and believed that many of the
detained lawyers would also be released over the next week.


6. (C) Qayyum also promised that media restrictions would be
lifted soon, including one local business news station that
night. (Note: Urdu-language CNBC, affiliated with MSNBC, is
back on the air.) Other local broadcasters would be up in
the next few days.

Red Mosque Irony
--------------


7. (C) The Ambassador raised the October 2 decision by the
Supreme Court, which reopened Islamabad's Red Mosque,
reinstated its radical imam, and released some detainees who
had been arrested under Pakistan's anti-terrorist
legislation. Musharraf, speaking to assembled ambassadors
November 5, specifically referred to these detainees' release
as evidence against the (former) Supreme Court.


8. (C) However, Qayyum confirmed that the newly reconstituted

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Supreme Court now includes three of the justices who had a
hand in this case. Justices Nawaz Abbasi and Faqir Mohammad
Khokhar originally opened the case on July 9 under the
Court's suo moto authority; Abbasi with Justice Javed Buttar
later ruled for the mosque on October 2. At this obvious
irony, Qayyum could only retort: "You can't get rid of judges
just because you disagree with some of their decisions."

Other Cases
--------------


9. (C) According to Qayyum, the Supreme Court would tackle
November 8 the contempt of court charges against GOP
officials related to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's
September 10 deportation.


10. (C) Qayyum asserted that the National Reconciliation
Ordinance (NRO) was a "bad law" and "would be struck down,"
though he noted the NRO might be upheld only because new
Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar was originally appointed to
the bench by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Qayyum
said the GOP could have more easily effectuated the same
result by withdrawing Bhutto's corruption cases currently
before the Punjab Accountability Court. He said that there
was no timetable for the Court to review the NRO, and,
frankly, there was no rush.


11. (C) Alluding to the Court's suo moto review of detentions
under Pakistan's anti-terrorist statutes, Qayyum revealed
that the GOP was currently drafting a new law against
"anti-state activities," including terrorist acts, which
would specify an "acceptable detention period." Qayyum,
however, did not specify what that period would be.

Not Martial Law
--------------


12. (C) Lastly, Qayyum wanted "to counter international
misperceptions regarding President Musharraf's November 3
imposition of emergency." He admitted that Musharraf's
measures were "extra-constitutional," but argued that the
precedent for such measures had been set by previous
Pakistani leaders.


13. (C) Qayyum claimed that the (former) Supreme Court was
about to rule against Musharraf because Chief Justice
Iftikhar Chaudhry would not forgive and forget Musharraf's
efforts to sack him on March 12. Chaudhry had lined up
anti-Musharraf votes, Qayyum was certain. Because of the
recent increase in militant attacks in the Northwest Frontier
Province, "the country could not afford to lose Musharraf."


14. (C) Qayyum said that Musharraf would legalize his
actions. The National Assembly had met late November 7 to
approve a resolution supporting the emergency (septel); the
Senate "would meet soon," Qayyum stated. He noted that
Musharraf had not installed military courts, regulations or
governors, and mentioned that Musharraf had ordered the Army
to stay in the barracks.


15. (C) Comment: Like many other government officials, Qayyum
is sharing his own speculation about Musharraf's plans
regarding the election and the uniform. Predictably, Qayyum
showed no appreciation of the irony involved in replacing
justices accused of abetting terrorism with the very judges
who voted to put Maulana Aziz back in the Red Mosque's
pulpit. End comment.

PATTERSON