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RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 3660
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000872 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PK PREL
SUBJECT: POTENTIAL PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER SHAH MEHMOOD 
QURESHI 
 

REF: A. ISLAMABAD 691 
     ¶B. LAHORE 698 
  Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  This is one of several profiles on political  leaders who will play a large role in Pakistan's new  government. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is in the  process of coalition negotiations on forming a government but  still faces a leadership struggle within its own ranks.  With  his separate power base in the party, Amin Faheem remains the  front-runner for the job as Prime Minister, but PPP Co-Chair  Asif Zardari sees Faheem as personally weak and politically  positioned to rival Zardari.  Shah Mehmood Qureshi is an  experienced politician but remains controversial within the  PPP in Punjab.  Although polished and pro-western, Qureshi is  a relative newcomer to the PPP, as he began his political  career with Nawaz Sharif but fell out with him.  PPP Co-Chair  Asif Zardari, however, considers Qureshi a viable candidate  for Prime Minister. End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Qureshi, the PPP's Punjab President, is a smooth and  sophisticated interlocutor, and he appears sincere in  professing that his and PPP's interests are congruent with  those of the United States.  He believes the PPP has more in  common ideologically with Musharraf than with Nawaz.  He is  ambitious and has been self-promoting his candidacy for Prime  Minister with foreign diplomats. 
 
¶3.  (C) Benazir Bhutto in early 2007 appointed Qureshi--a  relatively junior member of the party's leadership--president  of the PPP in Punjab Province.  Party insiders speculated  that Qureshi's appointment was intended to diminish the  rising popularity and influence of Yousef Raza Gillani, the  PPP Vice President and an alternate candidate for Prime  Minister. Qureshi and Gillani are political and spiritual  rivals from Multan; Qureshi's elevation was a direct snub to  Gillani and may have exacerbated splits within the provincial  party.  Qureshi was optimistic about his appointment as PPP  Punjab President, and told post that he believed his  appointment was well-received by local party leaders (REF B). 
 
¶4.  (C) However, some senior PPP Punjabi leaders, including  Gillani, consider Qureshi an outsider and have refused to  accept his leadership.  Qureshi faced further isolation  because he is unfamiliar with the PPP's power structure in  Punjab. As a hereditary spiritual leader, he demands separate  seating arrangements at party functions, a trait that has  antagonized grassroots supporters. Critics also accuse  Qureshi of accepting money in exchange for granting party  tickets for the February 18 parliamentary elections, although  Qureshi supporters argue he is untainted by scandal or  corruption. 
 
¶5. (C) Zardari told NSA Tariq Aziz he was considering Qureshi  as a candidate for Prime Minister. Aziz was unenthusiastic  and told Zardari he thought Qureshi would not work well with  other parties, was very ambitious, and might threaten  Zardari's authority. Qureshi views himself as capable and  independent front-man who can advance the party's objectives. 
""If I am Prime Minister,"" Qureshi told us that ""I am not  going to be Zardari's 'yes-man.'  I am loyal to the party and  to Zardari, but I am my own man.""  Qureshi explained that if  he was made Prime Minister he expected to be able to choose  his own Ministers and would not passively accept directives  from a behind-the-scenes Zardari. 
  Career and Personal History 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Qureshi originally joined Nawaz Sharif in 1985, and  won seats in the Punjab Provincial Assembly in 1985, 1988,  and 1990.  He was Punjab's Finance Minister (1990-1993) under  Nawaz's administration.  Nawaz refused to give Qureshi a  National Assembly ticket in 1993 because they differed over  how to administer the province; Qureshi then left Nawaz to  join the PPP.  In exchange for switching sides, Qureshi won a  National Assembly seat (1993) and became Minister of State  for Parliamentary Affairs.  He lost his seat in 1997 after  Nawaz swept the elections. 
 
¶7. (C) Qureshi was District Nazim (mayor) of Multan 
  ISLAMABAD 00000872  002 OF 002 
 
  (2000-2002); party critics say he ran in the local  (non-party) election without Benazir's blessing but with  Musharraf's tacit support.  Qureshi was a capable  administrator and oversaw a number of development projects in  the Multan district.  He used his influence as a nazim to win  reelection to the National Assembly on a PPP ticket  (2002-2007).  During this time he developed a reputation as a  forceful orator and championed strengthening and reforming  parliament.  Qureshi's critics, however, accuse him of  failing to deliver substantial development to his Multan  constituency. He retained his seat in the 2008 elections. 
 
¶8. (C) Qureshi was born in Multan on June 22, 1956. He hails  from a religious and politically active family and is the  hereditary caretaker of two of the city's main Sufi shrines,  which provides him with substantial income.  Qureshi also  claims the Sufi spiritual titles of Makdhoom and Pir. His  attempt to assert spiritual authority in Multan has been  controversial within the city's Sufi community, as many other  Sufi leaders--including Gillani--reject his claims of  spiritual authority.  Their dispute probably is what led  Qureshi initially to join Sharif's party in 1985, as Gillani  was already associated with the PPP. Qureshi is married with  one son and two daughters.  He holds a B.A. from University  of the Punjab and a Masters degree from Cambridge University. 
 Qureshi is fluent in Urdu, English, Punjabi, and Seraiki. 
 
¶9.  (C)  Comment:  We have multiple and repeated indications  that Zardari does not want Faheem to be Prime Minister. 
Zardari considers Faheem to be weak and lazy, but the real  problem we suspect is that Faheem has his own significant  power base in Sindh and would not be willing to vacate the PM  job if/when Zardari wants to take it over himself.  Beyond  Faheem, however, Zardari does not have many good choices  within the party.  Choosing a Punjabi like Qureshi or Gillani  (see septel for his profile) could alienate the PPP's Sindh  base but could help the PPP expand its reach into the  vote-rich Punjab heartland. 
PATTERSON