VZCZCXRO0504
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBN #0056/01 1180514
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 280514Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL MELBOURNE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4934
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3585
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1566
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 2092
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MELBOURNE 000056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/A TOM REOTT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF AS
SUBJECT: MELBOURNE BASED AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ON 
HIS POLICY PLATFORM 
 
REF: CANBERRA 278 
 
Classified By: Justin Kolbeck, Pol/Econ Officer for reasons 1.4(b)(d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Abdul Khaliq Fazal, former Afghan Minister for Public 
Works (2001-2004) and declared presidential candidate in the 
August election, shared his initial policy platform with 
Consul General on April 27.  If elected, Fazal says he will 
strengthen political parties and introduce a Prime Minister 
in order to give minority tribes a voice in government.  He 
said he will work to remove Mujahadeen-era intelligence 
officers from senior posts in Afghanistan and will adopt a 
"tough stance" vis-a-vis Iran.  Fazal, who has lived in 
Melbourne for the better part of thirty years, will return to 
Afghanistan to campaign on May 1.  This cable includes 
highlights of Fazal's platform; the full version of his 
"policy agenda" has been sent to the Afghanistan desk.  End 
Summary. 
 
Campaign Underway 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Abdul Khaliq Fazal, a Melbourne-based businessman and 
declared candidate for the Afghan presidential election, 
briefed Consul General on his campaign plans and future 
platform.  Fazal, whose heart condition (NFI) had prevented 
him from returning to Afghanistan sooner, intends to travel 
to Kabul on May 1 to begin campaigning.  He noted, however, 
that he will wait until the official commencement of campaign 
activities on June 18 before he begins his efforts in 
earnest.  Ray Stuart, one of Fazal's Australian campaign 
managers who accompanied him to the meeting, admitted that 
they are off to a late start, but claimed that the other 
candidates are also "scrambling" and that if President Karzai 
does not stand for reelection, the "field will be open." 
 
¶3. (C) Fazal said he enjoys strong support among overseas 
Afghans in Australia and in Dubai.  Despite having served as 
Minister of Public Works from 2001-2004 in the Afghan Interim 
Government, Fazal said he has clashed with President Karzai 
over "corruption among current Ministers and Governors." 
Karzai, he continued, is under too much pressure from 
warlords and drug dealers, however, to act.  He told Consul 
General in confidence that President Karzai's term in office 
"had been wasted" due to too many opportunities lost.  Fazal 
believes his support base in his home province of Kandahar is 
still strong despite his having lived in Australia for the 
better part of the last thirty years.  He will represent the 
Initiative for National Unity Party of Afghanistan and said 
that he has over 640 registered campaign workers throughout 
the country's 34 provinces. 
 
Pakistan 
-------- 
 
¶4. (C) Responding to Consul General's query about his views 
on Pakistan, Fazal said ties forged in the 1980's between 
intelligence officials on both sides of the Durand Line 
remain strong and are at the center of problems in the 
Northwest Frontier Province and the Federally Administered 
Tribal Areas.  If elected President, Fazal said he would push 
to remove this generation of intelligence officials from 
senior positions in Afghanistan and would lobby Pakistan to 
do the same.  Echoing an oft-heard refrain, Fazal remarked 
that "Pakistan's government, whether the civilian leadership 
knows it or not, is providing support to the Taliban and 
al-Qaeda." 
 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶5. (C) Fazal explained his position on Iran by way of the 
following anecdote.  While serving as Minister for Public 
Works, he discovered that an Iranian government-sponsored 
construction company was building a road linking Herat with 
Iran.  According to Fazal, Herat's Governor had approved the 
road project without first notifying him.  Fazal said he 
"strongly reprimanded" Iran's Ambassador and "kicked the 
workers out of Afghanistan."  While the road was eventually 
completed during Fazal's tenure, he said that Iran is 
"religiously and culturally interfering in Afghanistan" and 
should "be dealt with firmly." 
 
Reconciliation 
 
MELBOURNE 00000056  002 OF 002 
 
 
-------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Given Afghanistan's multi-tribal composition, Fazal 
proposes to introduce a Prime Minister via Constitutional 
amendment which would enable minority tribes (non-Pashtuns) 
to have a voice in national leadership.  He claimed that the 
current system gives the President too much power due to the 
ability to appoint Governors and one third of the country's 
Senators.  Overcoming Afghanistan's long struggle with 
reconciliation, Fazal believes, will be directly tied to 
giving minority groups a definitive say in governance. 
(Note: Fazal is a Pashtun himself and says he was childhood 
friends with President Karzai, and a former royalist.  End 
note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) While his policy platform highlights the need for 
Afghanistan to remain "neutral," Fazal did note that "without 
the support of the United States, Afghanistan will never 
stand on its own."  His six-page policy outline is broad and 
his campaign is still in the very early stages, but Fazal 
appeared committed to making a genuine run at the presidency. 
 Although he has spent the majority of the last three decades 
residing in Australia, Fazal was confident that his political 
support in Afghanistan remains robust. 
 
THURSTON