INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO HOLBROOKE: WANT YOU TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 000413

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER IN
SUBJECT: INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO HOLBROOKE: WANT YOU TO
SUCCEED IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN

Classified By: Leslie Viguerie for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) In a February 16 meeting with Special
Representative Richard Holbrooke and Ambassador Mulford,
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also
acting Prime Minister, congratulated the United States on
the election of President Obama. Mukherjee made the
following points on U.S-India engagement on Afghanistan and
Pakistan issues:

-- India wants the United States to succeed in Afghanistan
and Pakistan;

-- With an eye on the approaching elections in Afghanistan,
India wants to see strong development of democratic norms
and institutions in the country; and

-- India favors an integrated approach to solving the
Afghanistan and Pakistan problems.


2. (C) Special Representative Holbrooke pledged complete
transparency with India on what the United States considers
and does in Afghanistan and Pakistan.


3. (C) Underscoring Indian stakes in stability in
Afghanistan, Mukherjee reviewed the range and scope of
Indian assistance to that country. He highlighted the
Indian engagement in Afghanistan's power and road sectors
as well as the 250,000 tons of wheat that India has
recently pledged to provide to Afghanistan. On the Zaranj
road that links the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to the
western Afghanistan hub of Herat, Mukherjee said India
completed the project against stiff opposition from the
Taliban which did not want the road to be built. The toll
was heavy, according to Mukherjee, with the Taliban killing
11 Indians and 29 Afghans -- 1.5 kilometers for every life
lost -- during the construction. Mukherjee also spoke
about India's broad engagement in Afghanistan's power
sector, with work on dams, transmission lines, distribution
systems, substations, and training.


4. (C) On the political process in Afghanistan, Mukherjee
recommended the Bangladesh caretaker government model where
power is transferred to an interim caretaker administration
a few months before the election to ensure perceptions of a
free and fair process. Referring to a fractured
opposition, he noted that the opposition needs to agree to
a "common candidate" if it is to be competitive in the
coming national elections.


5. (C) On Indo-Pakistan relations, Mukherjee described his
May 2008 visit to Islamabad where he met then-President
Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani and
political leaders Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Asfandyar
Wali Khan. Noting that one cannot choose a neighbor, he
said India will work with the cards it has been dealt. He
observed emphatically that India wants peace and stability
within Pakistan. Mukherjee suggested that one of
Pakistan's problems has been the dominant role of the
military. He contrasted that to the civil-military
relationship in India where the military is completely
subservient to the civilian leadership. He expressed some
puzzlement at this divergence because both peoples are
"from the same stock."


6. (C) Holbrooke accepted Mukherjee's offer of Indian
input to the U.S. strategic review of Afghanistan and
Pakistan policy. They agreed that Foreign Secretary Menon
would visit Washington in this regard at a time not yet
specified.


7. (U) Ambassador Holbrooke has cleared this message.

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