Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ISLAMABAD4895
2007-11-17 10:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:  

MGPK01: SITREP 23, AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD: NEGROPONTE

Tags:  PGOV PK AEMR AMGT CASC KFLO PINR PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9037
OO RUEHDE RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #4895/01 3211009
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 171009Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3274
INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 3464
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 7783
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 6729
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 2258
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 1667
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 8091
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 4084
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 2614
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 3266
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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)

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