VZCZCXRO1752
OO RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #3012 2561429
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121429Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8784
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 9117
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 8674
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3763
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 0307
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 6049
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 4859
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHWSMRC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 003012 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PK PREL PTER AF
SUBJECT: PROGRESS ON PAK-AFGHAN JIRGA; HINTS AT 
BREAKTHROUGH ON SIR CREEK, SIACHEN 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: On September 11, Pakistani and Afghan Foreign 
Ministers agreed to a re-engagement plan between the two 
countries and to convene a mini-jirga shortly after the Eid 
holiday (early October).  Relations between the two countries 
had soured after the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, 
which Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed on Pakistani 
involvement.  Looking toward their eastern neighbor India, 
President Asif Zardari, also speaking to the press September 
11, pointed to Sir Creek and Siachen as areas that could be 
resolved leading to a larger Kashmir deal.  End summary. 
 
With Afghanistan 
- - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (U) Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told 
the press September 11 that he and Afghan Foreign Minister 
Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta had developed a "re-engagement plan" 
for their two countries to improve recently strained 
relations.  The two officials agreed to hold a mini-jirga as 
a follow-up to the grand jirga that took place last year in 
Kabul. Although the dates for the mini-jirga have yet to be 
finalized, it has been announced that it would take place 
after the Eid holiday (October 2 or 3).  This plan is the 
result of discussions between Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf 
Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in August. 
 
¶3. (U) The two Ministers also agreed to reconvene the 
Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission (dates yet to 
be determined) and to hold the third Regional Economic 
Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (to be held in November 
in Islamabad) to focus on bilateral trade and economic 
cooperation concerns.  Additionally, Qureshi and Spanta 
agreed to meet at the UN General Assembly later this month to 
continue with the bilateral dialogue. The ministers reported 
that their respective National Security Advisors would also 
participate in robust bilateral dialogue to focus on security 
concerns. 
 
¶4. (U) Relations between the two countries began to sour 
after the July bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, which 
Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed on the Pakistani 
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.  The Foreign 
Ministers' re-engagement plan, as well as Karzai's attendance 
of Zardari's September 9 swearing in, comes on the heels of 
the recent support by Karzai for U.S. operations in Pakistan 
and the denouncement of the same operations by Pakistan Chief 
of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani. 
 
With India 
- - - - - - 
 
¶5. (U) President Asif Zardari added September 11, speaking to 
the press, that he was hopeful that two long pending disputes 
with India -- Sir Creek and Siachen -- will be resolved very 
soon.  He claimed political leaders across the spectrum would 
be brought on board on any breakthroughs, naming Pakistan 
Muslim League-N's Nawaz Sharif, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F's 
Fazlur Rehman, Awami National Party's Asfundyar Wali Khan, 
and Muttahida Quami Movement's Altaf Hussain. 
 
¶6. (U) Progress on Kashmir would come if these two other 
issues could be resolved, Zardari said.  "All the possible 
solutions on Kashmir will be discussed first in the 
parliamentary committee on Kashmir and then the final 
solution will be approved by the parliament," he concluded. 
 
PATTERSON