POTENTIAL PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER JAVED HASHMI

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 000788



SIPDIS



SIPDIS



E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2018

TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PK, PREL

SUBJECT: POTENTIAL PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER JAVED HASHMI



REF: A. ISLAMABAD 4997

B. ISLAMABAD 745



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



1. (C) Summary: This is one of several profiles on potential

Pakistani candidates for Prime Minister. Pakistan Peoples

Party (PPP) leader Asif Zardari recently expressed

willingness to name Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)

member Javed Hashmi as Prime Minister (REF B). Hashmi is best

known for being jailed on charges of treason in 2004 after

advocating a coup against Musharraf. Hashmi, who was acting

party President during Sharif's exile, has consistently had

the strong backing of the Sharifs. End summary.



Potential Consensus Candidate?

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2. (C) Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif selected Hashmi as

the party's acting president in 2000, after Sharif was exiled

to Saudi Arabia. In 2002 Sharif appointed him leader of the

PML-N in the National Assembly. In 2003, after Nawabzada

Nasrullah Khan's death, he was chosen as the leader of the

Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD),where he

interfaced with his party and the PPP.



3. (C) Hashmi is an effective and dynamic campaigner who is

also a fiery speaker. He recently was elected to his sixth

term in the National Assembly. In the February 18, 2008

elections he was the only candidate who was elected from

three separate constituencies. In Rawalpindi he defeated PML

heavyweight Sheikh Rashid Ahmad by a large margin.



4. (C) Hashmi in 2004 attempted to embarrass the Musharraf

government by holding a press conference in which he read a

letter ostensibly from junior army officers advocating a coup

against Musharraf. Hashmi was arrested on charges of treason

and forgery and tried in secret. He was sentenced to 23 years

despite protests from human rights groups and the

international community. The ARD ran Hashmi, although he

remained in jail, as its candidate for Prime Minister against

Shaukat Aziz in 2004, but the Speaker refused to allow Hashmi

to campaign before the National Assembly. The Supreme Court

of Pakistan under Iftikhar Chaudhry granted Hashmi bail after

serving 3.5 years in prison and he was released on August 4,

2007. He was re-detained for several weeks in November 2007

during Musharraf's emergency rule (REF A). While imprisoned

Hashmi stayed in contact with opposition leaders, talking

twice to Benazir Bhutto, and to Jamaat-e-Islami's Qazi

Hussain and Tehreek-e-Insaf's Imran Khan. (REF A).



Personal and Career History

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5. (C) A soft-spoken intellectual, Hashmi was born on January

1, 1948 in Makhdoom Rashid, Multan, Punjab. He completed his

M.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Philosophy from the

University of the Punjab, where he was a prominent student

leader. He was elected president of the student's Union of

Punjab University and belonged to the Jamaat-i-Islami's

student wing. He was Minister of State for Youth and

Student's Affairs, Minister of State for Culture, Sports and

Tourism (1978-1979). Under former President General Zia he

was Minster of Culture and Tourism. Hashmi was elected to

the National Assembly in 1985 and was appointed Federal

Minster for Health (1997) during Sharif's second

administration. Hashmi is a significant landowner in southern

Punjab and is married with six daughters, at least one who is

involved in politics (REF A). Hashmi has traveled to the

Middle East, the United States, and Europe. His hobbies

include reading, walking, and following current affairs. He

speaks excellent English.

PATTERSON