Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ISLAMABAD1527
2008-04-10 10:43:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:
PROFILE: PAKISTANI DEFENSE MINISTER AHMED MUKHTAR
how-toVZCZCXRO8479 OO RUEHLH RUEHPW DE RUEHIL #1527 1011043 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 101043Z APR 08 FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6446 INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 8435 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 7686 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3109 RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 9534 RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 5280 RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 4009 RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 001527
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PK PREL
SUBJECT: PROFILE: PAKISTANI DEFENSE MINISTER AHMED MUKHTAR
REF: ISLAMABAD 900
UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 001527
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PK PREL
SUBJECT: PROFILE: PAKISTANI DEFENSE MINISTER AHMED MUKHTAR
REF: ISLAMABAD 900
1. (SBU) Summary: On March 31, Ahmed Mukhtar was sworn into
office as Pakistan's new Minister of Defense. Mukhtar is a
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) stalwart and a close associate
of PPP co-chair Asif Zardari; until recently he had been a
top contender for the position of Prime Minister. End Summary.
2. (SBU) On March 31, Ahmed Mukhtar was sworn in as Defense
Minister. Mukhtar is a lifelong PPP adherent and associate
of Zardari's from their shared time in jail. He last held
party leadership positions in the 1990s as PPP Secretary
General (1998-1999) and Commerce Minister (1993-1996).
Rivalry with the Chaudhrys
--------------
3. (SBU) Mukhtar comes from the same constituency as the
Chaudhrys of Gujrat, Pakistan Muslim League (PML) leaders
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. He and
the Chaudhrys have been longtime political rivals and fought
each other in the same constituency since 1990, with both
intermittently winning and losing.
4. (SBU) Mukhtar's political stock revived in February after
he defeated Shujaat in the National Assembly race. Mukhtar
has opposed political negotiations with the PML as long as
the Chaudhrys are members of the party.
Career History
--------------
5. (SBU) Mukhtar served as Commerce Minister during Benazir
Bhutto's second adminstration. He was appointed Secretary
General of the PPP (1997-99) after the party's electoral
defeat to Nawaz but resigned from to post in 1999 for
"personal reasons." During Bhutto's exile, he was a frequent
press interlocutor who took every chance to protest against
the government and the corruption charges levied at Bhutto.
6. (SBU) Muktar's relationship with Zardari goes back to
their time together as cabinet colleagues from 1993-97. In
May 2002, he was jailed on two corruption charges for a total
of 18 months, 12 of which he spent with Zardari. He was
acquitted by the Sindh High Court in one case in November
2003 and by a Lahore Accountability Court in the other in
2007.
Personal History
--------------
7. (SBU) Mukhtar belongs to one of Pakistan's 40 richest
families. He has been dubbed Pakistan's "shoe magnate"
because of his association with the Servis Group, one of the
biggest footwear manufacturers in Asia.
8. (SBU) Born on June 22, 1946, Mukhtar earned a masters
degree in operational management from Northrop University in
1974. He is married, with one son and two daughters. The
older daughter is an American citizen and lives in the U.S.;
the younger daughter recently received a masters degree from
Lahore University of Mathematical Sciences. The son runs a
textile factory in Muridke, Punjab.
9. (SBU) This is an updated unclassified biography. See
Reftel for a classified biography.
PATTERSON
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PK PREL
SUBJECT: PROFILE: PAKISTANI DEFENSE MINISTER AHMED MUKHTAR
REF: ISLAMABAD 900
1. (SBU) Summary: On March 31, Ahmed Mukhtar was sworn into
office as Pakistan's new Minister of Defense. Mukhtar is a
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) stalwart and a close associate
of PPP co-chair Asif Zardari; until recently he had been a
top contender for the position of Prime Minister. End Summary.
2. (SBU) On March 31, Ahmed Mukhtar was sworn in as Defense
Minister. Mukhtar is a lifelong PPP adherent and associate
of Zardari's from their shared time in jail. He last held
party leadership positions in the 1990s as PPP Secretary
General (1998-1999) and Commerce Minister (1993-1996).
Rivalry with the Chaudhrys
--------------
3. (SBU) Mukhtar comes from the same constituency as the
Chaudhrys of Gujrat, Pakistan Muslim League (PML) leaders
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. He and
the Chaudhrys have been longtime political rivals and fought
each other in the same constituency since 1990, with both
intermittently winning and losing.
4. (SBU) Mukhtar's political stock revived in February after
he defeated Shujaat in the National Assembly race. Mukhtar
has opposed political negotiations with the PML as long as
the Chaudhrys are members of the party.
Career History
--------------
5. (SBU) Mukhtar served as Commerce Minister during Benazir
Bhutto's second adminstration. He was appointed Secretary
General of the PPP (1997-99) after the party's electoral
defeat to Nawaz but resigned from to post in 1999 for
"personal reasons." During Bhutto's exile, he was a frequent
press interlocutor who took every chance to protest against
the government and the corruption charges levied at Bhutto.
6. (SBU) Muktar's relationship with Zardari goes back to
their time together as cabinet colleagues from 1993-97. In
May 2002, he was jailed on two corruption charges for a total
of 18 months, 12 of which he spent with Zardari. He was
acquitted by the Sindh High Court in one case in November
2003 and by a Lahore Accountability Court in the other in
2007.
Personal History
--------------
7. (SBU) Mukhtar belongs to one of Pakistan's 40 richest
families. He has been dubbed Pakistan's "shoe magnate"
because of his association with the Servis Group, one of the
biggest footwear manufacturers in Asia.
8. (SBU) Born on June 22, 1946, Mukhtar earned a masters
degree in operational management from Northrop University in
1974. He is married, with one son and two daughters. The
older daughter is an American citizen and lives in the U.S.;
the younger daughter recently received a masters degree from
Lahore University of Mathematical Sciences. The son runs a
textile factory in Muridke, Punjab.
9. (SBU) This is an updated unclassified biography. See
Reftel for a classified biography.
PATTERSON