CODEL CASEY'S AUGUST 25 MEETING WITH MINISTER OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 002208 E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2024 TAGS: PGOV ETRD PREL PTER AF PK SUBJECT: CODEL CASEY'S AUGUST 25 MEETING WITH MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS Classified By: Ambassador Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 b, d. ¶1. (C) Summary: In an August 25 meeting with CODEL Casey, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan emphasized the need for a long-term enduring partnership between the United States and Pakistan. He argued for increased trade preferences for Pakistani goods through the long-promised Reconstruction Opportunity Zones and stressed the need to provide better quality public education -- citing both as important steps to combat terrorism. Khan stressed that better regional relations with India were essential and pressed for an end to public criticism of the Pakistan government's commitment to fighting terrorism. The Minister of State praised the USG focus on energy, noting that this sort of long-term commitment would help allay suspicions about USG intentions in the country. Foreign Secretary Bashir emphasized that Pakistan sought stability in Afghanistan and that more needed to be done to integrate the South and Central Asian region. End Summary. Reconstruction Opportunity Zones ¶2. (C) In his August 25 meeting with CODEL Casey, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan thanked the delegation for Congressional support of the Kerry-Lugar foreign assistance bill. At the same time, he noted that increased trade and private sector development were more important than assistance for the Pakistani economy and pressed for immediate passage of Reconstruction Opportunity Zone (ROZ) legislation. Senator Brown questioned whether the creation of ROZs would result in the expansion of firms and their entrance into new production lines or simply their relocation to different areas of the country. The Minister of State asserted that trade preferences would result in increased production and also cited the critical need to focus investment in the under-served tribal areas of the country. Foreign Secretary Bashir added that everyone understood it would be difficult for businesses in large areas of ROZ geographic coverage to take immediate advantage of trade preferences due to security and infrastructure concerns. However, he argued that creation of the ROZs was critical to signal to the population in these areas that the international community was concerned with their economic future and did not view the area simply as a battleground against terrorists. Bashir viewed the ROZs as the first phase of an effort to demonstrate to the region that it had a future beyond armed conflict. ¶3. (C) Senator Brown underscored that while the Congress wanted to move forward on ROZ legislation, it was critical that all free trade agreements contained stringent labor standards that were actually enforced by our trading partners. Senator Brown noted that this was a global issue. Foreign Secretary Bashir stated that Pakistan was part of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and that it had undertaken a number of international commitments in this regard. He claimed that this government was determined to ensure that all of these standards were met on the ground but that this would take time as previous undemocratic governments had not made this a priority. The Foreign Secretary told Senator Brown that high standards were a good thing but requested that in drafting the standard, the Senators keep Pakistan "ground realities" in view. Both the Foreign Secretary and Minister Khan underscored that rampant poverty and poor educational opportunities were largely responsible for the serious child labor problem in the country and that both would take time to address. Foreign Secretary Bashir also urged the Senators to view ROZs as a counter-terrorism tool rather than a normal trade agreement and not/not to set impossible standards. Long-Term Relationship ¶4. (C) Senator Casey noted that the United States was often perceived as pursuing tactical interests rather than a long-term relationship in Pakistan. He noted that the Obama Administration was trying to change this perception and to engage not just on current challenges but instead to have a more enduring relationship on multiple levels. Minister Khan underscored that the USG commitment to assist with energy would certainly help in this regard. He also believed that President Obama's personal involvement with the Friends of Democratic Pakistan and his ties to the country were helpful in overcoming the lingering perceptions of American short-sightedness that were holdovers from the fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The Foreign Secretary agreed, but noted that it was important that the United States take cultural factors into account when framing its messages to the Pakistani people. India ¶5. (C) The Foreign Secretary highlighted that the military-to-military relationship was and always had been a critical component of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, dating back to the CENTO/SEATO period. He argued that much good could come from enhancing this relationship. However, he asserted that the Congress was mistakenly preoccupied with India's security concerns. Bashir cited his respect for the USG decision to delink India and Pakistan in its defense sales, but asserted that within the Congress there had been a definite tilt towards the Indian perspective. According to Bashir, the Congress was refusing to provide some defense and dual-use items to Pakistan for fear that it would be used against India. This had, in Bashir's view, unfairly limited U.S.-Pakistan defense cooperation to the counter-terrorism realm. Bashir encouraged the Senators to revisit this policy in light of the improved relationship between India and Pakistan, and Pakistan's recent track record of cooperation rather than conflict with India. He implored that better relations between the United States and India should not/not be at the expense of Pakistan. Regional Focus ¶6. (C) The Foreign Secretary argued that despite lingering challenges, the overall trends in South and Central Asia were positive. He urged the United States to look not only at Pakistan, but rather at the wider region were he believed democracy had finally taken root. The Foreign Secretary believed that cross-border cooperation in the region and development projects that assisted in fostering trans-regional trade could greatly improve the prospects of the region as a whole. With democracy now firmly entrenched throughout the region, the Foreign Secretary argued that it was time to encourage closer regional cooperation and to resolve outstanding issues between neighbors. The Foreign Secretary underscored that it was imperative that the United States and other donors assist regional democratic governments in delivering services to their populations, arguing that if expectations are not met, people will lose faith in democracy. The Foreign Secretary also encouraged greater foreign direct investment in the region. Combatting Terrorism ¶7. (C) Congressman Space stressed that the United States was changing its approach in the fight against terrorism to emphasize economic and social development as the previous approach had failed. He promised that the United States was making a long-term commitment to development in South and Central Asia with the intent to tie the region more closely together economically, which he viewed as in our mutual benefit. Congressman Space, however, cautioned that success in Afghanistan was critical to this effort and that this was the "last chance" to get it right, as there was a strong possibility that if the current strategy failed, there would be tragic and long-lasting consequences. Congressman Space stressed Pakistan's responsibility to help stabilize Afghanistan and the need for honesty on both sides of the United States-Pakistan relationship, which he noted in the past had been lacking with painful consequences for both countries. ¶8. (C) The Foreign Secretary and Minster of State both expressed agreement with the Congressman's views. The Minister of State stressed that Pakistan was the biggest victim of terrorism and that no one should accuse Pakistan of either not understanding the problem or of not doing enough to combat it. Khan claimed that the public perception in Pakistan had noticeably changed in recent months and that thanks to the efforts of the democratic government, the public was now fully supportive of efforts to root out extremism and terrorism. Foreign Secretary Bashir added that it is counter-productive when Pakistan constantly has to prove its anti-terrorism credentials or when India accuses Pakistan of not doing enough to combat regional terrorist threats. ¶9. (C) Minister of State Khan stated that Pakistan desired peace in South Asia and that both sides had suffered from the Indo-Pak conflict. He asserted that over the last year Pakistan had made a concerted effort to combat regional terrorism but that the media and the Indian government unfairly continued to place the blame for all regional terrorist incidents on Pakistan. He was disappointed that the Composite Dialogue with India had been stalled since last November and termed it "unfortunate" that a small number of radicals had been allowed to derail this critical regional peace process and tarnish the name of Islam. The Foreign Secretary concurred, stating that "we were not the only ones to play intelligence games in the region," and adding that it was not in Pakistan's interests to destabilize the region. Afghanistan ¶10. (C) The Foreign Secretary stated that Pakistan was prepared to redouble its efforts to support stability in Afghanistan, as it was not in Pakistan's interest to see the country slip backwards into the chaos of the 1990s. Bashir claimed that Pakistan had a good relationship with Afghan President Karzai, but that his government would work with whoever ultimately won the Afghan elections. Bashir stressed that his government had not/not intervened in the Afghan elections and had even offered to enable Afghan refugees living in Pakistan to vote, although this had turned out not to be a priority for the Afghan government or the international community. The Foreign Secretary stated that Pakistan's interests were (1) to see a peaceful, united, stable Afghanistan with its territorial integrity intact and (2) to see an Afghanistan in which the people, the tribes along the border, and the government were favorably disposed towards Pakistan. Bashir underscored that it was in Pakistan's interest to control the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, but that this effort required joint cooperation both on border management and border stabilization. Bashir claimed that Pakistan had successfully cleared its border region of militants but that they continued to come across from Afghanistan. He also stressed the need to deal with weapons and financial flows to terrorist groups in the border areas that came from "across the region and not from Afghanistan." ¶11. (U) Pakistan Government Participants: Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Salman Bashir, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, Director General of the Foreign Service Attiya Mahmood, Assistant Secretary for the Americas Sohail Khan, Director General for the Americas Fozia Bibi, Assistant Director USA USG Participants Senator Robert Casey Senator Sherrod Brown Congressman Zach Space Ambassador Patterson Mark Powden, Chief of Staff to Senator Brown Brendan Fogerty, USMC Fellow to Senator Casey Major Collin Brooks, Military Escort Bryan Hunt, Political Counselor (notetaker) PATTERSON