AFGHANISTAN: PAKISTAN NOT A FRIEND, FOR NOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000170 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2029 TAGS: KCRM PREL PTER SNAR AF CA IR IPK UN SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN: PAKISTAN NOT A FRIEND, FOR NOW REF: A. UNVIE 0030 ¶B. UNVIE 0152 Classified By: Charge Geoffrey Pyatt for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: According to our Afghan embassy contact, Afghanistan does not want to invite Pakistan to the next Friends of Afghanistan meeting in Vienna,to be hosted by UK on April 28. The GOA is apparently concerned that inclusion of Pakistan could politicize the Group,and could be a precursor to inviting Iran. Our contact cited other fora, such as the Dubai Process, the Ankara Initiative, and the U.S. Trilateral Intiative, as more appropriate venues to address Afghanistan-Pakistan issues. However, he does not rule out the possibility of inviting Pakistan sometime in the future, when there can be some "results" on the ground. Given the French, U.K. and U.S. expressions of interest in including Pakistan, our contact promoised to seek Kabul guidance once more. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) The Friends of Afghanistan group in Vienna (Ref A) will have its next meeting on April 28, chaired by the U.K. According to our UK Mission contact Claire Halperin, UK Ambassador had approached Afghan Ambassador Shoogufan with the suggestion to invite Pakistan to the meeting. She said Shoogufan was hesitant and cited the need to consult Kabul. In a conversation on April 15, Counselor told Halperin and Afghan Embassy second secretary Daud Wedah of U.S. support for inviting Pakistan. Wedah stressed that his Ambassador, who was in Kabul for consultations, had received explicit instructions from the foreign minister that it was "premature" to invite Pakistan at this point. ¶3. (C) Wedah referred to the very difficult relationship between the two countries over the years. He expressed concern that including Pakistan could politicize the Friends Group in Vienna, which he described as a venue to discuss drug and crime issues. Noting that the Pakistan Ambassador, at the April 2 Italian lunch on Afghanistan, spoke about the need to include Iran in any regional approach (Ref B),he expressed his fear that inviting Pakistan could be a prelude to including Iran. He noted Pakistan's longstanding refusal to acknowledge the link between drugs and terrorism, an important principle in Afghan's domestic and international policy. In Wedah's view, Pakistan has always teamed up with Iran to block any UN drug and crime resolutions in Vienna that note such linkage. ¶4. (C) In a subsequent conversation on April 16, Wedah told Counselor that Pakistan and Iran should show some goodwill towards Afghanistan in fighting drugs. According to Wedah, one goodwill gesture would be for Pakistan to stop militants from crossing the border into Afghanistan to commit acts of terrorism. Wedah cited other fora, such as the Dubai Process (initiated by Canada),the Ankara Initiative (initiated by Turkey) and the U.S.-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral, as more appropriate fora for addressing Afghanistan-Pakistan drug issues. ¶5. (C) Wedah did not rule out the possibility of inviting Pakistan sometime in the future. According to him, his Ambassador had sought guidance on the U.K. request from a Deputy Foreign Minister, who referred it to the Foreign Minister, who rejected the idea. Wedah claimed that he was unaware of U.S. interest in including Pakistan in the Friends Group. Counselor informed him of French support for the idea as well. Wedah promised to convey this new information to Kabul, through his Ambassador, for further instructions. PYATT