MGPK01: SITREP 23, AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD: NEGROPONTE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 004895 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2017 TAGS: PGOV PK AEMR AMGT CASC KFLO PINR PREL SUBJECT: MGPK01: SITREP 23, AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD: NEGROPONTE VISTS; GEO TV SHUT DOWN REF: ISLAMABAD 4876 Classified By: DCM Peter W. Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Deputy Secretary met with National Security Advisor Tariq Aziz and telephoned Pakistan People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto November 16; he met with President Musharraf and Vice Chief of Army Staff Kayani on November 17. The GOP officially shut down Geo TV overnight, which had skirted the media blackout by broadcasting from Dubai. Three Supreme Court justices are threatening to opt out of hearing petitions against the imposition of emergency. Protests and demonstrations continue around the country. The wife of attorney Aitzaz Ahsan visited him in jail and reported he is physically fine. Mission offices continue to operate normally. End summary. ¶2. (U) After meeting with National Security Advisor Tariq Aziz in Islamabad of November 16, Deputy Secretary telephoned Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto to discuss the current political environment. The Deputy Secretary met November 18 with Vice Chief of Staff Kayani and President Musharraf. ¶3. (C) According to Geo TV, the GOP November 16 pressured the United Arab Emirates to shut down transmission of Geo and ARY TV from Dubai. According to Geo owner Mir Shakil ur Rehman, the owners in Dubai have been accused of being "American agents." Both Geo and ARY are now off the air in Pakistan. ¶4. (U) Citing "judicial propriety," three of eleven justices on the newly reconstituted Supreme Court have announced they may recuse themselves from hearing petitions challenging the imposition of a state of emergency. President Musharraf used the decision of these three judges to re-open Islamabad's Red Mosque as one example of judicial excess that precipitated the need for a state of emergency. ¶5. (U) The wife of Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, saw her husband in jail today and reported that he was physically fine. There have been rallies of lawyers in the U.S. and elsewhere demonstrating against his detention, and there were concerns that he might have been abused in custody. ¶6. (C) Mushaid Hussain, General Secretary of Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League party, today publicly called for Musharraf to lift the state of emergency before the elections. ¶7. (U) Peshawar: Throughout the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP),significant protests took place on November 16. Eight protesters were arrested following a PPP protest in Bannu. Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) members held relatively peaceful protests in several districts, with the biggest being in Peshawar, where hundreds of MMA activists rallied before the Namak Mandi Mosque. The Awami National Party (ANP) also protested throughout the province, including Peshawar. Members and party leaders blocked provincial roads and clashed with police, resulting in further arrests. Jamait Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and ANP took part in a joint protest in Malakand (Swat) where police arrested a former ANP parliamentarian and a JUI-F Senator. ANP, JUI-F, and PPP held a joint rally in the Hangu district. Lawyers and journalists continued to protest against the emergency and the curbs on the media. PPP plans to stage a demonstration in Khyber agency today. ¶8. (U) Lahore: According to media reports, Pakistan Tehreek e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan was transferred November 16 from Lahore to a prison in Dera Ghazi Khan near the Punjab-Balochistan border. PTI members have also announced that they will not participate in any multi-party conferences until their leader is released. ¶9. (U) Karachi: PPP protests continued in Lyari on November 16, but there were no reports of arrests or gunfire. The Deputy District Officer granted bail to 35 PPP activists. ISLAMABAD 00004895 002 OF 002 Members of the JUI-F protested against the emergency and threw stones at the police in Larkhana, and police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd. No arrests were made, but JUI-F claimed that five of its members were injured. Throughout the rest of Sindh, several other protests took place, including a JUI-F rally in Shikarpur, a PPP protest in Thatta and Hyderabad (resulting in arrests),and a journalist hunger strike at the Nushahro Feroze Press Club. PATTERSON