QURESHI SHARES MUMBAI DOSSIER WITH BOUCHER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000032 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PK SUBJECT: QURESHI SHARES MUMBAI DOSSIER WITH BOUCHER Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher met Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi on January 5. The two men discussed India's sharing of a dossier with Pakistan detailing the results of India's ongoing investigation into the November 26-29 Mumbai attacks as a basis for continued and enhanced direct dialogue between the two countries. They also compared notes on the next steps for the Friends of a Democratic Pakistan group, including Japan's willingness to host the next meeting in March. Boucher and Qureshi agreed on the importance of the greatly improved tenor of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. Finally, Qureshi raised the potential repatriation to Pakistan of Dr. Aafia Siddiqi. End Summary. - - - - - - - The Dossier - - - - - - - ¶2. (C) Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi opened the January 5 meeting by informing Assistant Secretary Boucher that Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon had that morning shared with Pakistan's High Commissioner to India a dossier highlighting India's findings in its ongoing investigation into the Mumbai attacks. Both Qureshi and Boucher noted that this was a positive step, and Qureshi expressed his desire that the dossier serve as a starting point for more serious exchange and engagement between the neighbors. "Ultimately," Qureshi said, "India and Pakistan have to sit across the table and come up with a solution. It can't be done through emissaries or the media." ¶3. (C) In an effort to be transparent with the Pakistani people, Qureshi said he wanted to make the dossier public. Noting that the trust of the bilateral channel needs to be "paramount," Boucher said that Pakistan, if it was going to go public with the dossier, needed to be prepared to publicly share its findings as well. Boucher, encouraging greater India-Pakistan cooperation, indicated that we had shared information with Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate chief Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, and hoped to share additional information with Pakistan from our own investigation into the Mumbai attacks and from information obtained from a suspect currently detained in Bangladesh. ¶4. (C) In response to Boucher's query on the path to broader India-Pakistan cooperation, Qureshi said the first step is to 
rebuild confidence. The best way to do this, noted Qureshi, is through cooperation on the Mumbai investigation. Providing the dossier is a good start. India's accepting of the high-level Pakistani delegation would serve as a positive next step. Lamenting the negative toll the Mumbai attacks have had on the substantive progress he made with Indian Foreign Minister Mukherjee on the day of the attacks, Qureshi said that constructive engagement between India and Pakistan is imperative to improved relations. ¶5. (C) Assistant Secretary Boucher asked Qureshi about his trip to Punjab and meetings with the Sharifs in advance of the Government's actions against Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat ud-Dawa. Qureshi said that while the Sharifs understood the serious ramifications of Mumbai, they stressed the need for evidence. Qureshi said that Nawaz Sharif does not see the issue "with the same clarity as us." He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-N wanted to remain on the right side of international opinion, but wanted to also placate its domestic (Punjabi) constituency. Qureshi said his party differs from Nawaz's because it understands that terrorism is a fire in Pakistan's house and if it isn't addressed, "Pakistan will be doomed." -------------- Friends of Pakistan -------------- ¶6. (C) Qureshi noted that Pakistan received official confirmation from Japan indicating its willingness to host the next Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting in March, and if required, to host a donors conference at the same time. ISLAMABAD 00000032 002 OF 002 Qureshi thought this timing was acceptable as it would allow for the new U.S. government to establish itself and for Pakistan to do the necessary preparatory work to create specific projects that could be shared with the Friends. Boucher agreed that March would work, but said donors are eager to see Pakistan take a stronger leadership role, meet program benchmarks, and work with the World Bank to develop a prioritized list of programs to which donors can target their pledges. Boucher also said he is unable to commit an as-of-yet unconfirmed Secretary of State's participation in a March Conference. -------------- Pakistan-Afghanistan -------------- ¶7. (C) Qureshi felt Pakistan's relationship with Afghanistan had improved dramatically in recent months. The turning around of this relationship might serve as a model for improving relations with India, he suggested. Qureshi highlighted a Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral engagement strategy document, the text of which he and his Afghan counterpart had finalized. Qureshi called the engagement strategy a watershed in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, and said the strategy is holistic, doable, and something that Zardari will hope to sign when he is in Afghanistan later in the week. Boucher commented on the visible progress in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations both on the border and through improved military cooperation. He encouraged more work on improved transit and trade between the two countries, highlighting the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan, now scheduled for April, as another avenue for cooperation. ¶8. (C) Boucher urged that President Zardari discuss with President Karzai the reconciliation process, so that there is some level of understanding, if not coordination, on both sides of the border. Boucher expressed American support for the process, under the direction President Karzai has set out. This process can only work with those groups who agree to abandon violence. Qureshi agreed, and said we must start making distinctions between the good and bad guys in the tribal areas. Boucher noted continued American support for Reconstruction Opportunity Zones and for the G-8 plan on border development. Qureshi cited three actions that would send a quick and positive message in the tribal areas: Early passage of Reconstruction Opportunity Zone legislation; a real effort at expanding Pakistan's capacity at becoming more targeted, focused, and result oriented in the border areas; and help in fostering and developing positive relationships between various entities across the border including parliamentarians, the nongovernmental organization community, and traders. -------------- Aafia Siddiqi -------------- ¶9. (C) Qureshi asked if any progress had been made on the repatriation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqi to Pakistan. Boucher noted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into the potential for repatriation but that no determination was likely to be made for quite a while. ¶10. (U) Assistant Secretary Boucher cleared this cable. PATTERSON