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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: ZARDARI'S VIEWS ON AGREEMENT WITH NAWAZ 
 
REF: A. ISLAMABAD 1070 
     ¶B. ISLAMABAD 970 
    ¶C. ISLAMABAD 924 

  Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif  Zardari told Ambassador March 10 that yesterday's agreement  with Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif was  less than it seemed regarding the restoration of the judges  (Ref A).  Zardari reiterated his desire to work with  Musharraf as President.  He and Nawaz have agreed, privately,  that former Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry  will not be restored and that the current Chief Justice will  remain.  Zardari said his choice for Prime Minister was  Yousef Gillani (Ref B).  Zardari has selected Sherry Rehman  as Minister of Information and Syed Naveed Qamar as Minister  of Finance (Ref C).  Embassy cautions there is more ground to  travel before these issues are resolved.  Zardari seems  sincere and has shown some political courage, particularly on  the Kashmir issue.  He has good ideas, especially on the  Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and on economic  issues.  But it remains to be seen how he will handle the  parliament )- and his coalition partners -- once the  sessions get underway.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Ambassador called on Asif Zardari March 10 to get his  version of the ""deal"" with PML-N head Nawaz Sharif.  Zardari  said he and Nawaz had agreed (very privately) that the former  Chief Justice would not be restored, nor would current Chief  Justice Dogar be removed.   Zardari said he had to do  something about the judges: a new civilian government could  not keep the former Chief Justice and his family, including  two disabled children, in confinement two blocks from the  parliament, and Zardari had conveyed this view to ISI head  Nadeem Taj and NSA Tariq Aziz.  He had asked the government  to move the former Chief Justice to his family home in  Quetta, but the government had refused, arguing that the CJ  ""had a gun"" and would forcibly resist being moved.  (Comment:  No one wants the black eye of moving the former Chief Justice  and his family under the glare of international publicity. 
End Comment.)  When Ambassador asked about the 30 day  deadline for the parliamentary resolution which would  supposedly reinstate the judges, Zardari laughed and said in  politics thirty days could become eighty or ninety.  He  reiterated his commitment to working with Musharraf and  especially Tariq Aziz, with whom he felt particularly  comfortable.  He wanted Musharraf to ""relax"" and not be so  concerned about the former Chief Justice. 
 
¶3. (C) Zardari revealed he had been in touch with Chief  Justice Dogar to assure him he would not be removed. 
Zardari was less clear about the legalities of the  restoration of the other judges, although he implied some  phased-in system might be employed.  He noted Aitzaz Ahsan  was campaigning for President now, a job that Nawaz Sharif  would also like to have.  Zardari said he would not welcome  Aitzaz back into the PPP fold. 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador asked about the choices for Prime Minister. 
 Zardari reiterated that he was angry Amin Faheem had spent  virtually the entire campaign in Dubai ) engaging his ""weak  libido (sic)"" and ignoring his party responsibilities in the  middle of the campaign.  Zardari argued that Faheem was  simply not up to the demands of the office of the Prime  Minister.   Ambassador asked about the possibility of a split  in the party and the general perception that Faheem was a  popular party stalwart with IOUs in the party structure. 
Zardari said Faheem would only take two deputies with him if  he split from the party.  In the meantime, he was being  courted by the PML-Q.  Zardari confirmed he would have been  willing to work with the PML-Q if they had dumped the  Chaudharys -- which Musharraf had been reluctant to do.  Now,  Zardari said, he did not trust Faheem.   Zardari said he was  going to wait until the very last minute, after the assembly  was convened, to announce the choice for PM. 
 
¶5. (C) Zardari said he had made a deal with Jamiat  Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) leader Fazlur Rehman to enter the  coalition.  While he only has six seats in the national  assembly, Rehman still has fourteen senators.  Ambassador  asked if ANP leader Walid Khan had agreed to this:  Zardari 
  ISLAMABAD 00001072  002 OF 002 
 
  said he had. 
 
¶6. (C) Zardari said he planned to run in a by-election if he  were permitted to do so.  Ambassador said we would like to  work with the PPP and other parties on the reform of the  electoral commission, to make it truly independent.  Zardari  concurred with this idea. 
 
¶7. (C) Zardari said he had floated Ahmed Mukhtar,s name as a  possible candidate for Prime Minister, but Mukhtar had not  done well in the subsequent glare of international publicity. 
 Zardari said his current choice was Yousef Raza Gillani (Ref  B) who is also a vice chairman of the party.  Zardari argued  he needed someone from the Punjab as PM, since that populous  province was the backbone of the party's future.  He said  Sherry Rehman would be Information Minister and that Syed  Naveed Qamar would become the Minister of Finance, although  he would be advised by a strong group of businessmen. 
Zardari said he was at pains to rebrand the PPP as friendly  to business and to encourage American investment. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment:  Party infighting seems to continue unabated. 
 Tariq Aziz told us a few days ago that while the government  would have preferred Amin Faheem, any of the four major  candidates would be acceptable to them.   Embassy will get an  update from him March 11.  At this point we do not believe it  realistic to try and put together any coalition with the  PML-Q.  One of the main outstanding questions is whether  Zardari plans to run for Prime Minister himself if allowed to  run in a by-election.  End comment. 
  PATTERSON  "