CODEL BIDEN'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PK
SUBJECT: CODEL BIDEN'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF

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


1. (C) In a February 19 meeting with President Musharraf,
Codel Biden congratulated the President on keeping his
commitment to hold free and fair elections. Musharraf shared
his views on why he believed the deposed judiciary could not
be restored, expressed satisfaction with progress against
extremist militants, and agreed more forces were needed to
reinforce the Pak-Afghan border. While he welcomed a
Marshall Plan for Afghanistan, Musharraf said Pakistan also
needed more assistance for the tribal areas. End Summary.


2. (C) Senators Joseph Biden, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel
and Ambassador met February 19 with President Musharraf.
Also attending were Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff
Director Tony Blinken, SFRC Staffer Jonah Blank, SFRC Staffer
Frank Lowenstein and Deputy Chief of Staff for Sen Hagel
Rexon Ryu, and Polcouns (notetaker),Pakistan National
Security Advisor Tariq Aziz, MFA Americas Additional
Secretary Attiyah Mahmood and the President's Private

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Secretary, Mohsin Hafez.

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3. (C) Musharraf opened the meeting by saying that he was
prepared to work with the new government as soon as it was
formed. He was pleased that the elections were, as he
promised, free, fair, transparent and peaceful. The ARMY was
called out but was not needed to control law and order
problems. Turnout was between 35-40%.


4. (C) Noting his previous conversations with Musharraf,
Senator Biden offered his personal thanks to Musharraf for
keeping his commitment to hold free and fair elections. This
will benefit Pakistan and Musharraf's legacy. Musharraf said
the election had created a problem, but corrected himself to
say it was a "situation" and that in the interests of
Pakistan, he would engage right away with new leaders "if I
have a role to play."


5. (C) Senator Kerry asked Musharraf to lift restrictions on
the judges and lawyers who remained in detention. This was,
he said, an opportunity to show that Pakistan was embracing
democracy again. Senator Kerry noted it was his belief that
democratic government would help in the fight against the
militants and would provide the basis for a long-term
relationship with the U.S. that was tied to economic goals,
not just to the war on terror.


6. (C) Musharraf flatly responded that restoration of the
judiciary was not legally possible, but freedom of the
judiciary was possible. "Three or four of the judges
remained in the judges' colony in Islamabad--they were free
to return to their homes but were staying for their own
reasons." We asked them to vote, asserted Musharraf, and
said they could return to their homes. They are not under
house arrest. But if they want to call thousands to protest,
this is not acceptable. Musharraf said that every time he
freed the lawyers from detention, they started agitating.
But now there will be a new government, and the lawyers can
be free; the new government can decide what to do with them.
Musharraf repeated that, legally, the judges cannot be
reinstated. The Supreme Court said there were grounds for
imposing the state of emergency.


7. (C) Senator Biden asked about the feasibility of making
new appointments in the future; Musharraf responded that
there were a fixed number of judges under the law, but that
mandatory retirement could affect some of them. Musharraf
then explained the procedure for naming new Supreme Court
justices, which included the counsel of the sitting Chief
Justice and the Prime Minister who make recommendations to
the President. "I just sign" claimed Musharraf.


8. (C) Expanding on his theme, Musharraf said the judiciary
got itself into "a turmoil" after which the Prime Minister
lodged a case against the Chief Justice. Musharraf referred
the case to the Supreme Judicial Council, which has the
responsibility to examine allegations of misconduct against
judges. Then, however, the judges and the lawyers
politicized the issue. Months of maneuvering came to a head
when the Supreme Court went around the Judicial Council to
reinstate the Chief Justice without ever having examined the
case. At that point, said Musharraf, "I accepted the
reinstatement."

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9. (C) Then, said Musharraf, the former Chief Justice
"stopped notification of my re-election" as president. He
explained that the court challenged the sovereignty of the
parliament and kept reconstituting the bench hearing the
case. First there were five judges, then seven, then nine,
finally eleven. "Do not insist on something that cannot be
done" (i.e., reinstatement of the deposed judges),said
Musharraf, "as it will only create more controversy." He
went to say that "We put the best available judges on the
bench to replace the deposed ones. This was their own doing,
and if you try to restore them, there will be a clash."


10. (C) Senator Kerry then asked about the new parliament
and Musharraf's relationship to it. Musharraf said that the
PM rules the government, and constitutionally there is no
sharing of power with the President. In the past few years,
"I was interfering" when they wanted my help or there was a
crisis the government could not resolve. "This was informal
interference and it was accepted." But, Musharraf explained,
that in the future parliament, no one party will have the
power to rule so they will have to form a coalition. The
power troika, he believed, would consist of the Prime
Minister, the President and the Army.


11. (C) Ambassador asked Musharraf for his views on how
government formation would play out. The President's private
secretary said that the Election Commission would notify the

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results, the former Speaker of the National Assembly would
call the new parliament into session, and, after taking their
oaths, the new Assembly would choose a parliamentary
leader/Prime Minister.


12. (C) Noting that no election is perfect, Senator Hagel
thanked Musharraf for delivering on his promise to hold free
and fair elections. He asked for an assessment on relations
with Afghanistan and progress against the extremists.
Musharraf acknowledged the increase in suicide bombings,
mostly attributed to Baitullah Mehsud and his group in South
Waziristan. Otherwise, things were going reasonably well,
especially in Swat. Two to three months ago, Musharraf said
he did not think would be possible to hold an election in
Swat, but the ARMY has been able to contain the militants
under militant leader Maulana Fazlullah. Now, the ARMY was
dealing from a position of strength in North and South
Waziristan. We have moved more battalions into the area and
have sealed the border. We will not allow al Qaida to
continue activities. The ARMY is doing its best to find
Baitullah Mehsud and squeeze him, asserted Musharraf.

(13. C) Musharraf described Pakistan-Afghan relations as
improved; both sides had lowered their rhetoric against the
other. He had a good meeting in August with President
Karzai. There had been a misunderstanding that Pakistan was
to blame for all the trouble. This was not true, said
Musharraf-- "the militancy is all in Afghanistan but with
support from the Pakistan side." According to Musharraf,
Karzai claimed it was the reverse, and this was a
misperception shared by the U.S. and the West.


14. (C) Senator Biden asked what more was needed on the
border--increases in ISAF forces and/or the Afghan Army?
Musharraf said that certainly more forces were needed to
reinforce the border; it was unfair to blame Pakistan for all
the cross border traffic. More forces were needed to deal
with Mullah Omar in Afghanistan, regardless of whether they
were U.S., ISAF, or Afghan troops. On the socio-economic
side, more resources were also needed. Musharraf said there
was fatigue on the Afghan side but we must persevere.
Responding to Senator Biden, Musharraf said he would support
a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan, but Pakistan needed more
assistance too, especially in the tribal areas. Until 9/11,
Musharraf noted, we had ignored the area, which remains
medieval. The British had left it that way too.


15. (C) Summing up, Musharraf said that the world must not
treat Pakistan as if it were Belgium. Most people outside of
Pakistan had no idea what the former Chief Justice was doing
and no understanding of the need for the state of emergency
and the provisional constitutional order. This was a gap in
understanding that should be corrected. Senator Biden
adeptly turned the conversation back to the future by saying
we had an opportunity to make a new start. We could move the

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relationship from a transactional arrangement to one based on
support for democracy and economic growth. Senator Biden
said in talks with other political parties he had stressed
the need to avoid grudges and move forward.


16. (U) Codel Biden did not have an opportunity to clear on
this message.







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