MUSHARRAF NAMES CARETAKER CABINET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 004890 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2017 TAGS: PGOV PK PREL PINR AEMR KFLO CASC SUBJECT: MUSHARRAF NAMES CARETAKER CABINET REF: A. ISLAMABAD 4830 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 4365 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: As expected and provided for under the constitution, Musharraf named a caretaker cabinet when the National Assembly's term ended on November 15. Caretaker governments will be named for the provinces beginning November 20. These caretaker governments will serve until new assemblies are elected, scheduled for early January 2008. Under the caretaker system, Musharraf continues as President, and the current Armed Forces leadership remains in place. Please see para 9 for bios of key new officials. End summary. Caretaker Cabinet -------------- ¶2. (C) The Pakistan Constitution requires that, upon dissolution of the National Assembly, the president appoints a caretaker government (ref B). According to the Constitution, "The caretaker Prime Minister is not eligible to contest the immediately following election. Upon dissolution of the four Provincial Assemblies the governors may, with the previous approval of the President, also appoint caretaker provincial cabinets. The caretaker Chief Ministers are not eligible to contest the immediately following election." ¶3. (C) Under the Constitution, the president has discretionary power to appoint a caretaker government, and there are no requirements that its members have any specific qualifications or be non-partisan. In fact, most of Pakistan's caretaker governments have been decidedly and disastrously partisan. While there is an historical pretext for a technocratic caretaker government, the current highly charged political atmosphere indicates we are unlikely to see that kind of government this time. ¶4. (U) On November 16, President Musharraf named 24 caretaker cabinet ministers, plus a caretaker prime minister (listed below). The Caretaker Prime Minister is Mohammed Mian Soomro (ref A),who will also retain his current job as Chairman of the Senate. He replaces Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. In the coming days, Musharraf is expected to announce caretakers for the rest of Pakistan's 38 federal ministries. Prime Minister: Mohammed Mian Soomro Foreign Affairs Minister: Inamul Haq Defense Minister: Saleem Abbas Jilani Finance/Revenue Minister: Salman Shah Trade/Commerce Minister: Shahzada Alam Mannoo Interior Minister: General (retd) Hamid Nawaz Khan Information Minister: Nisar Memon Law/Justice Minister: Syed Afzal Haider Kashmir Affairs Minister: Abbas Sarfaraz Minority Affairs Minister: Raja Tri Deve Roy Women/Social Development Minister: Shahida Jamil Human Rights Minister: Ansar Burney Information Tech Minister: Abdullah Riar Culture/Sports Minister: Sakindar Jogezai Tourism/Youth Minister: Muhammad Ali Saif Environment Minister: Wajid H. Bokhari Labor Minister: Nisar Ghuman Science/Technology Minister: Shamas Lakha Food/Livestock Minister: Prince Isa Khan Ports/Shipping Minister: Faheem Ansari Communications Minister: Habibur Rahman Petroleum/Natural Resources Minister: Ehsanullah Khan Housing/Works Minister: Lala Nisar Ahmed Khan Religious Affairs Minister: Khawaja Ataullah Industries/Production Minister: Salman Taseer Elections -------------- ¶5. (U) For the first time in Pakistan's history, the National Assembly completed its full, five-year term on November 15. In this regard, Pakistan's Constitution, though currently in abeyance, was followed. Musharraf's November 11 commitment ISLAMABAD 00004890 002 OF 003 to hold parliamentary elections by January 9, 2008, is also in keeping with the 60-day window prescribed by the Constitution. National and provincial elections will be scheduled for the same day, and we expect Pakistan's Election Commission (ECP) to announce a date certain sometime next week. The Presidency -------------- ¶6. (U) Musharraf's term as President should have likewise expired on November 15; however, a president remains in office until a successor is elected and sworn in. Musharraf is waiting for the reconstituted Supreme Court to confirm that he was eligible to stand for the election he won on October 6. Musharraf has stated that he will resign as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and take the presidential oath of office as a civilian as soon as the Court rules on his case. We expect the Court to take up this case next week. ¶7. (U) Pakistan's Armed Forces continue to report to the President. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Although an unusual procedure, naming a caretaker government is normal for Pakistan, and it allows the country to move forward to scheduled parliamentary elections in January 2008. Given Musharraf's November 3 decision to impose a state of emergency and suspend the Constitution, the GOP hopes that this step of naming a caretaker government will indicate that the political situation is on the road back to normalcy. Because Musharraf did not consult, as promised, with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto in advance of the composition of the caretaker government, we expect her and other opposition leaders to criticize the composition of this cabinet. Short Bios -------------- ¶9. (C) Below are short bios for key caretaker cabinet members. Prime Minister, Muhammad Mian Soomro (ref A). Soomro is currently Chairman of Pakistan's Senate. He is a self-effacing member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML). Soomro represents an established Sindh feudal family. Appointed by Musharraf, Soomro was Governor of Sindh 2000-2002. He entered the Senate in 2003, and was re-elected in 2006 to a six-year term. Previously, he worked as an international banker with a number of institutions, including Bank of America. He was born on August 19, 1960, and has a bachelors from Forman Christian College and a masters from Punjab University. He also studied operations management at Northrop University. Foreign Affairs Minister, Inamul Haq. Haq served as Pakistan's UN PermRep 1999-2000. He joined the diplomatic corps in 1965. Before his tenure at the UN, he served at numerous posts, including as Ambassador to Turkey, 1992-1996, and China, 1997-1999. He has also served abroad in Nigeria, Portugal, and Saudi Arabia. Haq was born in November 1940. He holds a masters in English Language and Literature. Defense Minister, Saleem Abbas Jilani. Jilani served as Defense Secretary 1989-1996. Finance Minister, Salman Shah. Shah is already a close Embassy contact and has been de facto finance minister since Shaukat Aziz became prime minister in 2004. Shah has advised PM Aziz on finance, revenue, economic affairs and statistics. He was a key player in the GOP's economic reforms program, begun in late 1999. He previously served as Chairman of the Privatization Commission of Pakistan and has been a board member of the State Bank of Pakistan, Bank of Punjab, Foundation University and Pakistan International Airlines. He earned his PhD in Finance from Indiana University Kelley School of Business Administration. Trade/Commerce Minister, Shahzada Alam Mannoo. Mannoo hails ISLAMABAD 00004890 003 OF 003 from one the oldest industrialist families on the sub-continent and started in his father's Calcutta rubber business in 1940. Mannoo migrated to Pakistan in 1971. Today, he is Chairman of the Mannoo Group, one of Pakistan's largest industrial conglomerates, including a car assembly plant and sugar mills. He stays active in various chambers of commerce throughout the country and previously headed the powerful All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers Association. Interior Minister, General (retd) Hamid Nawaz Khan. Khan served as Defense Secretary 2001-2005. Information Minister, Nisar Memon. Memon served as caretaker Information Minister in 1993, and as Information Minister and Frontier Regions Minister under Musharraf. He is a respected businessman from Sindh, who sits on the boards of PSO, ALICO and CALCORP. Memon was elected in 2003 as a PML Senator and re-elected in 2006 to a six-year term. He earned his masters of science from Karachi University. PATTERSON