GILANI TO KERRY: NO CONDITIONALITIES, NO DRONES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000807

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER PK
SUBJECT: GILANI TO KERRY: NO CONDITIONALITIES, NO DRONES

REF: ISLAMABAD 789

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


1. (C) Summary: Codel Kerry met April 13 with PM Gilani.
Gilani complained about the conditions recently placed on the
House version of the Senator's bill; Kerry said his Senate
version would be "very different," and rejected conditions as
demeaning. However, he was adamant that metrics would be
necessary to ensure goals were achieved. Gilani recommitted
his country to the war on terror, cataloguing Pakistani
losses. Gilani also lamented the demoralization of both the
police and military. More training and equipment was needed
for both, said the PM; more intelligence sharing was needed
bilaterally, Interior Minister Malik added. Gilani
especially criticized the alleged U.S. drone attacks; such
incidences were public relations boons for the militants, and
"our side" was losing the public's hearts and minds. Gilani
dismissed criticism of the Swat deal, saying the former
princely state was just following its own traditions; the GOP
had surrendered the writ of the state, Kerry countered.
Gilani again promised cooperation with the Indian Government
on the Mumbai investigation, and hoped for progress on
Kashmir so that both countries could focus on fighting
terrorism. End summary.


2. (SBU) U.S. participants included Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
and the Ambassador, with Teresa Heinz-Kerry, Frank
Lowenstein, and Fatema Sumar. Pakistan's Prime Minister
Yousuf Gilani was joined by Interior Minister Rehman Malik
and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir.

Trust is the Coin of the Realm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


3. (C) PM Gilani commenced his April 13 meeting with Codel
Kerry by welcoming the $1.5 billion in development assistance
planned for next fiscal year under the Kerry-Lugar bill. He,
however, took umbrage at the "conditionalities" placed on
Pakistan to receive the moneys, recently added to the House
version of the bill. It showed a "trust deficit." Contrary
to popular belief, the GOP had a counterterrorism policy and
was implementing it. The policy was adopted unanimously by
the parliament in October 2008, he noted, and the militants'
lashing out beyond their usual area of operations was proof
of implementation, Gilani argued. He was certain Foreign
Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is planning a trip to
Washington soon, could convince Congress to recognize
Pakistanis' sacrifice and to remove the conditions.


4. (C) Kerry confirmed that his assistance bill would be put
before the Senate soon and mentioned "key differences"
between the Senate and House versions. He said the bill
would fulfill the USG's promise of a long-term commitment to
Pakistan and would broaden the relationship beyond just
counterterrorism. Kerry agreed that conditions were
"demeaning," however, he insisted on the need for metrics;
the U.S. constituency must be assured, unlike in the past,
that funds were achieving results.


5. (C) Gilani appreciated Kerry's call for "multi-dimensional
cooperation," adding both countries needed to win over
Pakistanis' hearts and minds. Poverty, hunger, disease, and
unemployment were the root cause of terrorism. However,
"strings" on USG assistance would only be misrepresented by
opposition political parties, Gilani insisted. He repeated
that the fight against extremism was "Pakistan's war," and
noted the recent attacks in Lahore -- against the convoy of
the Sri Lankan cricket team and against a police training
facility -- as just the most recent examples of Pakistan's
losses in the war. These surely outnumber NATO losses in
Afghanistan, Gilani argued.

Honing in on Drones
- - - - - - - - - -


6. (C) The GOP needed more than development assistance, it
needed political support too, said Gilani, adding the police
were particularly demoralized. He asked the USG to help with
Pakistan's law enforcement capacity: subsidies for life
insurance; bullet-proof jackets; and fortified offices and
barracks. He hoped the Donors' Conference later in April
would help in such projects. Police capacity was essential
for it would eventually have to maintain the peace in areas

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re-captured by the Pakistan military.


7. (C) Without commenting on the efficacy of alleged U.S.
drone attacks, Gilani argued that such incidences were public
relations windfalls for the militants. The militants always
arrived at a site before official forces, buried the actual
targets, but left women and children victims out for media
coverage. The situation made the Pakistan military look
weak, as well as making it more difficult to recruit for
local militias (lashkars).

Swat
- - -


8. (C) Kerry was frank about Pakistan detractors in the U.S.
Many Americans questioned Pakistan's commitment to the war on
terror in light of the Swat agreement imposing shari'a law in
the NWFP district. It appeared the GOP was surrendering its
writ over national territory. Gilani could only note that
Swat was once a princely state, "with its own customs."
Raising the international reports about the flogging of a
young girl, Gilani offered the possibility that the event
took place before the Nizam-e-Adl regulations and maybe even
someplace else, not Swat.


9. (C) Interior Minister Malik also noted that the judges of
the area would continue, just in the Qazi courts, enforcing
the new regulation and not the national criminal code. He
added that the secular Awami National Party (ANP),which
governed the NWFP, had suggested the terms of the peace
accord. If there was any "hanky-panky" (breaking of the
accord's terms),the Army would be prepared to strike, he
claimed; this would be reviewed in two weeks, he promised.
But the GOP needed more intelligence sharing with USG
agencies, Malik added, to which Gilani quickly agreed. The
Federally Administered Tribal Areas' (FATA) Bajaur and
Mohmand Agencies were back under federal GOP control,
however, said Malik.

India
- - -


10. (C) Gilani claimed his administration was cooperating
with the GOI on the Mumbai investigation; more information
would be provided within the week. He was disappointed that
Special Representative Ambassador Holbrooke's mandate did not
include the resolution of disputed Kashmir, though he saw
positive signs from the GOI toward a settlement. The issue
needed to be put to rest so that both countries could focus
jointly on fighting terrorism, he concluded.


11. (U) This cable was cleared by Codel Kerry.

PATTERSON