At one stage, I though WikiLeaks are intentional leaks. Who know?
Wikileaks and Pakistan: Various Perspectives
From WikiLeaks to PakiWeaks
By Cyril Almeida, Dawn, Dec 3, 2010
WIKILEAKS has vindicated at least one American diplomat: Anne Patterson. The recent US ambassador to Pakistan comes across as one sharp cookie, learning quickly on the job, and soon enough cutting through much of the fog of Pakistani politics and security to get to the bottom lines.
Sometimes the outside observer can tell a lot more about a place than those immersed in it for long years. And so it is that Patterson hones in on many truths.
My personal favourite, her comment about the Pakistani psyche after Nawaz Sharif thanked the Americans for ‘selecting’ Kayani: “The fact that a former prime minister believes the US could control the appointment of Pakistan’s chief of army staff speaks volumes about the myth of American influence here.”
But there is another little passage in a cable in the run-up to the lawyers’ long march last year which is remarkably revealing, and perhaps goes to the heart of what is the problem in Pakistan:
“Kayani hinted at disquiet among his corps commanders who believe Zardari is corrupt and has not been paying enough attention to Pakistan’s economic and security challenges…. Kayani told ambassador he has talked directly to Zardari, but he does not appear to have conveyed the seriousness of army concerns about Zardari or the security situation vis-à-vis the march. (Note: Kayani may be seeking to avoid a confrontation that would prompt Zardari to make a disastrous decision to try and oust the COAS.)”
The last sentence is, if you think about it, quite amazing. Here is the US ambassador to Pakistan musing about the possibility that if the Pakistan army chief told the Pakistani president what he thought of the said president, the president may try and sack the COAS, historically and unquestionably the most powerful office in the country.
That’s your transition to democracy right there, that’s how tenuous this whole thing really is.
For complete article, click here.
Related:
Wikileaks Actually Shows US-Pakistan Relations Are Strong - By Syed Yahya Hussainy, Huffington Post
Diplomats saw no ISI link in Mumbai attack - Dawn
Pakistan media full of WikiLeaks - CNN
WikiLeaks and Pakistan’s dysfunctional state - By Raza Rumi, Express Tribune
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Dec 2, 2010
The US said it could work with Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, only if he won the elections, according to a WikiLeak cable.
A cable about US-Pak relations said that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani now do not consider India a major threat, as according to them, terrorists straddling Pak-Afghan border form the main part of threat to the country.
The cable said Pakistan should be stopped from exploiting terrorism and tribesmen as a tool in its foreign policy.
To make Afghan war a success, Pakistan government will have to be asked as to the sort of the government acceptalbe to Islamabad.
Militants will exploit either weak civilian government or a return to military rule that lacks popular legitimacy, so we should help the Zardari/Gilani government complete its full five-year term in office.
We can work with Nawaz Sharif if he wins the next election, but Zardari is our best ally in Pakistan right now, and U.S. interests are best served by preventing another cycle of military rule.
Qureshi will remind us that the GOP needs an international democracy dividend in the form of economic aid, improved governance, and effective law enforcement.
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Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after getting ‘clearance’ from the US. President Asif Ali Zardari told this to the then US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson after the assassination of BB, US embassy cables revealed.
According to the US embassy cables, Zardari held meeting with Patterson on 25th January 2008 in which he opened his remarks by saying that the US is “our safety blanket” and recounted how Benazir had returned despite the threats against her because of support and “clearance” from the US.
However, Zardari quickly moved on to the PPP succession. He shared a photocopy of a one-page handwritten will from Benazir in which she bequeathed the party to him. This document, Zardari said, would be published in an upcoming book authored by Benazir.
He said that he opposed to launch a FIR over Benazir’s death because Pakistan did not afford any more chaos.
US embassy cables revealed that Zardari was not much interested in who the sniper was or exactly how Benazir was killed. This was not as important as finding out who financed the killing, who were the "hands behind" it. Ambassador said that we believed Baitullah Mehsud was responsible; Zardari dismissed this by saying that Mehsud was "just a pawn" in the process.
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WikiLeaks has disclosed the conversation between US Senator John McCain and former president Pervez Musharraf in which latter talked about the possibility of the presence of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Bajaur Agency.
The US embassy cables disclosed Musharraf as saying that although he had no direct evidence, he thought al Qaeda leaders Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri were hiding in Bajaur Agency, bordering Afghanistan's Konar province where US forces were not deployed.
Musharraf, however, added that Mullah Omar was not present in Balochistan
Dec 1, 2010 - Latest Information about Pakistan
Dec 2, 2010
The US said it could work with Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, only if he won the elections, according to a WikiLeak cable.
A cable about US-Pak relations said that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani now do not consider India a major threat, as according to them, terrorists straddling Pak-Afghan border form the main part of threat to the country.
The cable said Pakistan should be stopped from exploiting terrorism and tribesmen as a tool in its foreign policy.
To make Afghan war a success, Pakistan government will have to be asked as to the sort of the government acceptalbe to Islamabad.
Militants will exploit either weak civilian government or a return to military rule that lacks popular legitimacy, so we should help the Zardari/Gilani government complete its full five-year term in office.
We can work with Nawaz Sharif if he wins the next election, but Zardari is our best ally in Pakistan right now, and U.S. interests are best served by preventing another cycle of military rule.
Qureshi will remind us that the GOP needs an international democracy dividend in the form of economic aid, improved governance, and effective law enforcement.
-----
Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after getting ‘clearance’ from the US. President Asif Ali Zardari told this to the then US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson after the assassination of BB, US embassy cables revealed.
According to the US embassy cables, Zardari held meeting with Patterson on 25th January 2008 in which he opened his remarks by saying that the US is “our safety blanket” and recounted how Benazir had returned despite the threats against her because of support and “clearance” from the US.
However, Zardari quickly moved on to the PPP succession. He shared a photocopy of a one-page handwritten will from Benazir in which she bequeathed the party to him. This document, Zardari said, would be published in an upcoming book authored by Benazir.
He said that he opposed to launch a FIR over Benazir’s death because Pakistan did not afford any more chaos.
US embassy cables revealed that Zardari was not much interested in who the sniper was or exactly how Benazir was killed. This was not as important as finding out who financed the killing, who were the "hands behind" it. Ambassador said that we believed Baitullah Mehsud was responsible; Zardari dismissed this by saying that Mehsud was "just a pawn" in the process.
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WikiLeaks has disclosed the conversation between US Senator John McCain and former president Pervez Musharraf in which latter talked about the possibility of the presence of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Bajaur Agency.
The US embassy cables disclosed Musharraf as saying that although he had no direct evidence, he thought al Qaeda leaders Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri were hiding in Bajaur Agency, bordering Afghanistan's Konar province where US forces were not deployed.
Musharraf, however, added that Mullah Omar was not present in Balochistan
Dec 1, 2010 - Latest Information about Pakistan
General Assessment - Lessons for the US and Pakistan: From the latest revelations, it appears that US diplomats and officials based in Pakistan routinely spend a lot of time discussing, analyzing and reporting domestic political issues in Pakistan that are of little consequence for the US interests. That explains why they often fail to understand and project major developments in Pakistan and South Asia in a timely fashion. Many of the conspiracy theories popular in Pakistan about US efforts to get a pardon for Musharraf in 2008 and undue interference in domestic political developments are substantiated by these revelations.
WikiLeaks cables: Pakistani army chief considered plan to oust president
Army chief considered pushing President Zardari from office to prevent opposition leader Nawaz Sharif taking power - Daclan Walsh, Guardian, Nov 30, 2010
Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, considered pushing President Asif Ali Zardari from office and forcing him into exile to resolve a political dispute, the US embassy cables reveal.
Kayani aired the idea during a frantic round of meetings with the US ambassador Anne Patterson in March 2009 as opposition leader Nawaz Sharif rallied thousands of supporters in a street movement that threatened to topple the government.
Kayani said that while he disliked Zardari, he distrusted Sharif even more, and appeared to be angling for a solution that would prevent the opposition leader from coming to power.
The cable illustrates the strong behind-the-scenes hand of Pakistan's military in civilian politics only six months after the last military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, resigned.
It also highlights the central role of western diplomats in Pakistani power games – as the Americans spoke with Kayani, British diplomats forged their own plan to broker a political deal between warring factions.
POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS
Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari 'prepared for assassination': Guardian -
....Zardari is frank about the strength of the Taliban – "I'm sorry to say this but we are not winning" the war against extremists he told the US vice-president, Joe Biden, in 2009 – and his own limitations.
....
But some dispatches make it clear that the Americans do wield great clout. After General Pervez Musharraf resigned as president in 2008, ambassador Patterson pressed Zardari to grant him immunity from prosecution. "We believed, as we had often said, that Musharraf should have a dignified retirement and not be hounded out of the country," she said.
(for original cable, click here)
NUCLEAR SAFETY ISSUES
WikiLeaks cables expose Pakistan nuclear fears: Guardian
US diplomats in Islamabad were told Pakistan was working on producing smaller, tactical nuclear weapons that could be used on the battlefield against Indian troops. "The result of this trend is the need for greater stocks of fissile material … Strategic considerations point Pakistan in the direction of a larger nuclear force that requires a greater amount of fissile material, Pakistani officials argue."
The US conducted its own secret analysis of India's military contingency plans, which are codenamed Cold Start. India has said that if sufficiently provoked, it would mount a rapid invasion of Pakistan.
The US said in a cable that it doubted the Indian army was capable of doing so: "It is the collective judgment of the mission that India would likely encounter very mixed results. Indian forces could have significant problems consolidating initial gains due to logistical difficulties and slow reinforcement."
But the US ambassador to India, Tim Roemer, warned in February that for India to launch Cold Start, would be to "roll the nuclear dice". It could trigger the world's first use of nuclear weapons since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"Indian leaders no doubt realise that, although Cold Start is designed to punish Pakistan in a limited manner without triggering a nuclear response, they cannot be sure whether Pakistani leaders will in fact refrain from such a response."
Also see, U.S. Opposed Release of Nuclear Dealer: New York Times; Nuclear Fuel Memos Expose Wary Dance With Pakistan - NYT; Unstable Pakistan Has US on Edge: Spiegel Online
TERRORIST GROUPS IN PAKISTAN, PML-N & ISI
WikiLeaks cables: Pakistan opposition 'tipped off' Mumbai terror group: Guardian
Pakistan's president alleged that the brother of Pakistan's opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, "tipped off" the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) about impending UN sanctions following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, allowing the outfit to empty its bank accounts before they could be raided....
Ambassador Meets with Generals Kayani and Pasha: Guardian
Kayani said we should talk to President Zardari about moving forward the back-channel with India, starting with the provisions agreed to in 2006....DGISI Pasha asked Ambassador to convey to Washington that he had followed up on threat information that an attack would be launched against India between September-November. He had been in direct touch with the Israelis on possible threats against Israeli targets in India. He had also gone to Muscat and Tehran to engage those intelligence services on threats, and they were alerted and working with Pakistan. He reminded Ambassador that information about an attack on India had come his way and he had asked CIA to convey it to the Indians through CIA channels. ... He emphasized that ISI was doing everything possible to reduce the possibility of an attack on India.
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Nov30, 2010, What Wikileaks about Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
Pakistan's ties with Saudi Arabia appeared to be under fresh strain on Monday in the wake of revelations from classified documents released by WikiLeaks, which quoted Saudi Arabian King Abdullah calling Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari "the greatest obstacle" to the country's progress.
"When the head is rotten, it affects the whole body," Abdullah said of Zardari in one of the documents.
While Pakistani officials publicly condemned the claim as an attempt to undermine the traditionally close ties between the two countries, western and Arab diplomats warned that the revelations may have finally exposed genuine underlying tensions.
Both are prominent Islamic states: Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer and the birthplace of Islam while Pakistan has the distinction of being the world's only Muslim country armed with nuclear weapons.
Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia predate its birth in 1947, when the country was carved out as an independent state from British colonial India. And many Pakistanis - like Muslims in all countries - feel tied to Saudi Arabia because of the traditional Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.
Pakistan the ‘most bullied US ally’ - Dawn: ... a top Pakistani military official claimed the country “has transited from the ‘most sanctioned ally’ to the ‘most bullied ally’” of the US.
Anne Patterson: WikiLeaks Outs A Truth-Teller - Huffington Post: Anne Patterson....pleads that Washington's whole policy is counterproductive: it "risks destabilising the Pakistani state, alienating both the civilian government and the military leadership, and provoking a broader governance crisis without finally achieving the goal".
The must-have weapons and the countries that want them: CNN - ...the Israelis complained about the sale to Jordan of air-to-air missiles that could pose a threat to Israeli warplanes. The Americans assured the Israelis that new missiles had no greater capabilities than the older version. ...
Robert Fisk: Now we know. America really doesn't care about injustice in the Middle East: Independent - Tears of laughter, I have to admit, began to run down my face when I read the po-faced US diplomatic report from Bahrain that King Hamad – or "His Supreme Highness King Hamad" as he insists on being called, in his Sunni dictatorship with a Shia majority...
World Leaders, Officials Watch WikiLeaks with Curiosity, Concern: VOA - Mr. Zardari's spokesman accused WikiLeaks of damaging Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia, and said President Zardari considers King Abdullah as his elder brother...