Viewing cable 09ISLAMABAD1123, CODEL LEAHY MEETS PRESIDENT ZARDARI

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2019 
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PK
SUBJECT: CODEL LEAHY MEETS PRESIDENT ZARDARI 
 
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, for reasons 1.4 (b)(d) 
 
¶1. (C) In a May 25 meeting with Codel Leahy, President 
Zardari described his recent trilateral meeting in Iran as 
being focused on controlling drug trafficking and expressed 
support for the Obama administration's outreach to Iran. 
Zardari asserted that he had political consensus for current 
Pakistani military operations in the Northwest Frontier 
Province, enthusiastically looked forward to improved 
relations with New Delhi in the wake of India's parliamentary 
elections, and welcomed U.S.-Pakistan-Afghanistan 
intelligence sharing to control cross-border militant 
movements. Zardari repeated his request for "drone 
technology so my forces can take out the militants." End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Senators Patrick Leahy, Sheldon Whitehouse and Mark 
Warner, accompanied by Ambassador, met May 25 with President 
Asif Zardari. Also attending were: Daniel Ginsberg, Defense 
Aide for Senator Leahy, John Tracy, Staff Assistant for 
Senator Leahy, Mark Brunner, Legislative Assistant for 
Senator Warner, General Secretary for the Presidency Salman 
Farouqui, Attorney General Latif Khosa, Senator Syeda Sughra 
Imam, Presidential Spokesman Faratullah Babar, Interior 
Secretary Kamal Shah, MFA Additional Secretary for the 
Americas Attiyah Mahmood, and Polcouns (notetaker). 
 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶3. (C) Senator Leahy opened the meeting by asking about 
President Zardari's recent trip to Iran to attend a 
trilateral meeting with President Karzai. Zardari said the 
main focus was forging a combined effort to counter drug 
trafficking, a business worth $5 million a day even before 
drugs hit the streets of Central Asia or Europe. This was, 
he said, more than my police and Army budget put together. 
The militants are paying $60 per day to fight us in Swat and 
much of the funding comes from the drug trade. Zardari said 
there also as a discussion about Iran's offer to provide oil, 
gas and electricity to Pakistan. Under the Bush 
administration, it was not "PC" to discuss these things, but 
Pakistan desperately needs energy resources and no one 
else--especially the Saudis--are offering to help. Still, 
explained Zardari, "I need you more than anyone else, so I 
will take my cue from you. Perhaps now it will be possible 
to work with Iran on energy issues." (Note: The press 
reported May 25 that Zardari and Iranian President 
Ahmadinejad signed a declaration to support a gas pipeline 
agreement between the Iranian and Pakistani Oil Ministries.) 
 
¶4. (C) Senator Whitehouse asked if Iran's nuclear weapons 
program had been discussed; Zardari said no, "it didn't come 
up and I did encourage the discussion moving in that 
direction. Zardari opined that the Obama Administration's 
policy of engagement with Iran was a good one. Iran 
controlled the Straits of Hormuz and could create many 
problems for the West; dialogue was a better option than 
threats. He noted that a regional approach, including 
efforts to work with Turkey, India and Afghanistan, offered 
the best chance of progress with Iran on nuclear issues. 
 
Anti-Militant Operations 
------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Senator Leahy noted that the delegation had just 
visited Iraq and would next visit Afghanistan where the U.S. 
was increasing troop levels and asked how this affected 
Pakistan. Zardari said he hoped the Senator would some day 
visit the border area, because 70 percent of the problem in 
controlling militancy could be explained by the rugged nature 
of the terrain; it was more difficult for Pakistan to control 
this border than it was for the U.S. to control its border 
with Mexico. He was pleased with the progress of military 
operations, but this was not just a positive development for 
the Army. The government had taken political ownership of 
the fight and now had consensus support from the parliament 
and popular support. 
 
¶6. (C) The Pakistani Army was composed primarily of 
Punjabis, and historically Punjabi officers took the brunt of 
casualties in war, said Zardari. That was why it was so 
important that Pakistan Muslim League-N opposition leader 
 
ISLAMABAD 00001123 002 OF 002 
 
 
Nawaz Sharif supported the current operation. Within 
meetings like the recent All Parties Conference on the 
security situation, the political parties were on board with 
the government, explained Zardari. Outside the meeting, 
these parties might say other things to the media to appease 
their constituencies. Zardari noted that he had signed the 
Swat Nizam-e-Adl regulation only after receiving 
parliamentary support. There were small parties like 
Jamaat-e-Islami that opposed military action but they were in 
the minority. 
 
¶7. (C) The other half of the equation, said Zardari, was 
caring for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who now 
were "in pain" suffering from the hot weather and shortages 
of food and water. The real challenge, however, will be 
rebuilding areas after the conflict ends. Senator Leahy 
responded that this would take a long time; Zardari agreed 
but said "this is war." Senator Whitehouse asked for an 
estimate of what it would cost to rebuild; Zardari estimated 
$3-4 billion and commented that this money must be spent 
transparently. 
 
India 
----- 
 
¶8. (C) Senator Warner asked if the election results in India 
would pave the way for improved Indo-Pakistan relations. 
Zardari emphatically said yes, and he had been the first to 
congratulate PM Singh after his victory. "I want the Indian 
market for Pakistan," said Zardari. Further, "today's war 
between us involves non-state actors; tomorrow's war will be 
about water in the Indus River system." Noting the 
Indian-Russian relations helps Pakistan, Zardari said he 
welcomed better U.S. relations with India after the collapse 
of the Soviet Union. "India and Pakistan can do great things 
together with U.S. help," asserted Zardari. 
 
Afghanistan/Intelligence Sharing 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) In response to Senator Leahy, Zardari said the recent 
trilateral meetings in Washington with President Karzai had 
been useful. He and Karzai had a much better relationship 
than former President Musharraf had had with Karzai. Senator 
Whitehouse noted the importance of intelligence sharing to 
root out militants in the Pak-Afghan border area and asked 
Zardari if he would support deployment of troops along the 
border to prevent cross-border movement of militants. 
Zardari responded that Pakistan supported establishment of 
tripartite Border Coordination Centers, had built multiple 
border posts and had deployed 125,000 troops in the area. 
Still, these forces were insufficient to stop militant 
movements, cautioned Zardari. 
 
¶10. (C) Zardari welcomed the acquisition of modern 
technology and said "give me the drones so my forces can take 
out the militants." That way, "we cannot be criticized by 
the media or anyone else for actions our Army takes to 
protect our sovereignty." Referring to a recent drone strike 
in the tribal area that killed 60 militants, Zardari reported 
that his military aide believed a Pakistani operation to take 
out this site would have resulted in the deaths of over 60 
Pakistani soldiers. Zardari offered to give the delegation a 
Pakistani Air Force briefing on how it was using F-16s to 
attack caves where the taliban cached their weapons. 
 
¶11. (U) Codel Leahy approved this message. 
PATTERSON