CODEL LYNCH'S MEETING WITH PAKISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 000301

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2020
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PK AF
SUBJECT: CODEL LYNCH'S MEETING WITH PAKISTAN
TEHREEK-E-INSAF (PTI) PARTY LEADER IMRAN KHAN

REF: A. 09 ISLAMABAD 03029

B. ISLAMABAD 00183

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


1. (C) Summary: On January 29, a congressional delegation led
by Representative Stephen Lynch met with Imran Khan, a former
professional cricket player who heads the Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf ("Law and Justice") party, at Khan's
residence in the hills overlooking Rawal Lake on the
outskirts of Islamabad. The meeting's picturesque setting
belied Khan's often pointed and critical statements on U.S.
policy, which he characterized as dangerous and in need of
change. His litany of criticisms ranged from accusations of
U.S. failure to support democracy in Pakistan to drone
operations being a driving force of militancy and
radicalization. Khan urged the U.S. to seek out "alternative
points of views" because the GOP can not be trusted to give
it an accurate assessment of the real terrorist threat in
Pakistan. He also called on the U.S. to engage local tribes
to deal with the Taliban and other militant forces, and
argued that the U.S. will have to scale back its operations
in Afghanistan in order to make way for talks. End Summary.


2. (C) A congressional delegation led by Representative
Stephen Lynch met with Imran Khan, a former professional
cricket player who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
party, on January 29. Khan welcomed the delegation to his
home located on the outskirts of Islamabad in the hills
overlooking Rawal Lake. The meeting was held outside on the
immaculate lawn of Khan's sizeable home against the backdrop
of the foothills of the Himalayas. The picturesque setting,
however, lay in stark contrast to the often pointed and
critical statements that were later to come from Khan. What
was initially scheduled to be a 30-minute courtesy call
stretched into an hour-long, largely one-sided, and somewhat
uncomfortable conversation, with Khan delivering blunt views
on what he considers to be failings of U.S. policy in
Pakistan and, by extension, in Afghanistan.


3. (C) Representative Lynch opened the meeting noting that
with the Obama administration had come a new opportunity for
change in U.S. policy toward Pakistan and for "resetting" the
relationship between the two allies. Lynch stated that both
of our countries are facing "real challenges" that have been
exacerbated by the poor global economy. He acknowledged
facing questions from his constituents about why the U.S.
sends economic assistance to Pakistan ("With no returns,"
quipped Khan). However, Lynch said he understood that,
though it would take much work and patience, it was important
"to help Pakistan stabilize itself." He highlighted the need
to build trust between the two countries and to have more
dialogue.


4. (C) Lynch then yielded the floor to Khan, who took the
opening to begin his litany of objections to the conduct of
U.S. policy in Pakistan, which he characterized as being
dangerous and in need of change. Khan noted that he had been
in opposition to former President Pervez Musharraf's
government and that he was now also in opposition to
President Asif Ali Zardari's government. He stated that he
had initially supported Musharraf because Musharraf had
promised to bring "real democracy" to Pakistan. However, in
the end, "Musharraf took us all for a ride." He stated that
Musharraf was initially popular with the people because they
were fed up with former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and
Nawaz Sharif, but he lamented that Musharraf ended up
bringing back into his government the same individuals who
had served under Benazir and Nawaz.


5. (C) Khan charged that former Deputy Secretary of State
John Negroponte and former Assistant Secretary of State for
South and Central Asia Richard Boucher endorsed the
controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)
(reftels) specifically in order to pave the way for Bhutto's
return to Pakistan. Khan further argued that there is a
common perception that Bhutto decided to run for office under
U.S. pressure. Now, "thanks to the NRO, the biggest criminal
in the country (i.e., Zardari) has been brought to power,"
Khan stated. Khan added that U.S. assistance was going to "a

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known crook" and said the U.S. should not stand with Zardari
because "you need a credible partner to deal with our
Taliban."


6. (C) Khan went on to chastise the U.S. for repeating with
Zardari a key mistake that, he claimed, it had made during
Musharraf's government, which was that "it supported the man
and not the democratic process." Khan cautioned the U.S.
against giving the impression that it is supporting a puppet
government in Pakistan, which will only further alienate the
people, he added. Khan claimed that evidence of this
alienation can be found in the fact that after eight years of
U.S. support to Pakistan, 80 percent of Pakistanis believe
the U.S. is a greater threat to Pakistan than India is. He
insisted the U.S. should always bank on supporting democracy
in Pakistan because, ultimately, whatever government comes to
power will "want to play ball with the U.S.," as long as it
is "sovereign and trustworthy."


7. (C) Lynch told Khan that leadership in Pakistan has been a
"moving target," and acknowledged that a lot of hope had been
riding on Bhutto's return to power. However, Lynch
emphasized that there was never a calculation on the USG's
part to support any one leader over another. He added that
U.S. policy toward Pakistan, overall, has consistently been
driven by the view of Pakistan as a strategic partner.


8. (C) On the current security situation in Pakistan, Khan
advised that the USG should use local tribes to deal with
Taliban and other militant forces. He said that, in order to
be able to work with tribesmen, we have to understand the
"tribal character," which, he said, is primarily marked by
hospitality and revenge. He denounced the use of aerial
bombings and drone operations, arguing that they have created
animosity and caused local tribesmen to join militant forces
in order to seek revenge. (Note: Khan also pointedly stated
that the GOP allows the "drone attacks" to occur, then lies
to the Pakistani public that it has no control over them to
deflect the public's anger. End Note.) Khan argued that
such operations were radicalizing Pakistani youth, not just
among the poor but also among the educated, middle classes.
Dialogue, policing, and intelligence gathering should be the
cornerstone of anti-militancy efforts in the tribal areas
instead of the use of military force, Khan contended. Noting
that he was recently in Swat, he went on to accuse the
Pakistan Army of extrajudicial killings, summary executions,
and "sexual humiliation" of residents in some villages.


9. (C) Khan urged the USG to seek "alternative points of
views" about what is happening in the tribal areas of
Pakistan, and he recommended speaking with General Orakzai,
former NWFP Govenor, for starters. Khan charged that the GOP
is "blinded by dollars," and consequently lacks an accurate
view of what is happening on the ground. He further claimed
that the GOP "whips up the threat of the Taliban" in order to
get more money from the U.S. He claimed last year's Swat
operation, which he termed a "debacle," was one such
exaggeration that was "stage managed" in order to gain U.S.
funds; there was no imminent threat of militants marching on
Islamabad, he said. Khan also claimed that the Lal Masjid
operation was similarly stage managed by Musharraf. He
called for an end to Pakistan's "insane military action" in
the tribal areas, adding that the Army has failed to secure
any significant areas of South Waziristan despite GOP
statements to the contrary.


10. (C) On current local politics, Khan predicted Pakistan
was heading towards mid-term elections. He also claimed that
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was the most popular man in
Pakistan at the moment because the people of Pakistan want
NRO beneficiaries to be brought to justice. Regarding
Afghanistan, Khan argued that a government of consensus is
needed in that country, adding that Pakistan can play a
credible role there. He asserted that the government in
Afghanistan needs to be "perceived as sovereign." He said
our mistake in Afghanistan was failing to isolate Al-Qaeda
from the Taliban. Khan called on the U.S. to scale back its
operations in Afghanistan to make way for talks.


11. (U) This cable was drafted after CODEL Lynch departed

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Pakistan.


12. (U) Participants

U.S.
Representative Stephen Lynch
Representative Bob Inglis
Representative Todd Platts
Representative Betty Sutton
Representative Joe Donnelly
Scott Lindsay, Professional Staff Member, House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee (HOGR)
Bruce Fernandez, Professional Staff Member, HOGR
Adam Fromm, Professional Staff Member, HOGR
DCM Jerry Feierstein

Pakistan
Imran Khan, leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party
PATTERSON