Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 08ISLAMABAD676, POTENTIAL PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: AMIN FAHEEM

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #08ISLAMABAD676.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08ISLAMABAD676 2008-02-15 04:12 2011-05-22 01:00 SECRET Embassy Islamabad
VZCZCXRO9025
OO RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #0676/01 0460412
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 150412Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5131
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 8160
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 7261
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 2810
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 8952
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 4823
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 3517
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000676 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PK PREL
SUBJECT: POTENTIAL PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER:  AMIN FAHEEM 
 

REF: A. ISLAMABAD 549 
 
     B. ISLAMABAD 505 
     C. ISLAMABAD 226 
     D. ISLAMABAD 146 
  Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary:  This is one of several profiles on potential  Pakistani candidates for Prime Minister.  The Pakistan  People's Party (PPP) is embroiled in a leadership struggle;  the Central Executive Committee will decide after the  February 18 election who will be its choice for Prime  Minister.  As PPP Vice Chairman and the man chosen by Benazir  as the PPP's in-country leader during her exile, Amin  Makdhoom Faheem is considered the party's most likely choice. 
 In the most recent International Republican Institute's  poll, Faheem was the candidate preferred overall to become  Prime Minister. 
 
2.  (C)  The other contenders include PPP Co-Chairman Asif  Zardari, who floated a failed trial balloon (Ref A) on his  candidature in early February.  Zardari is not currently  eligible to run for a National Assembly seat (a requirement  to become Prime Minister) although he plans to run in an  April by-election.  Other PPP hopefuls include PPP Punjab  President Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PPP Co-Chairman Yousef  Gilani, and former Defense Minister (under Benazir Bhutto) 
Aftab Mirani.  End Summary. 
 
3.  (C)  The eldest son of a founding member of the PPP, Amin  Faheem has a strong, independent political base in Sindh  province.  A traditional Sindhi feudal landlord, Faheem also  inherited divine Sufi status from his father and enjoys the  revenues from a local Sufi shrine near his home in Hala. 
Faheem shares a story of how he was personally recruited as a  young man to the party by PPP founder Zulfakir Ali Bhutto  during high tea in London.  Local press notes that Faheem's  followers affectionately call him ""he whose presence brings  good harvest."" 
 
4.  (C)  Faheem was deeply shaken by Benazir Bhutto's  assassination. In addition to physical side-effects (poor  hearing in his left ear, continuing pain in his chest and  shoulder), Faheem was depressed and withdrawn for several  weeks after the December 27 bombing.  Despite this  experience, however, he has not sought even minimal security  protection.  Until very recently, he was driving himself in  an unarmored vehicle and had only an old night watchman  guarding his home. 
  Likable but Weak 
 
5.  (S)  Faheem is polite, mild-mannered, soft-spoken and  considered pliable.  Benazir kept him and all her supporters  on a very short leash, so Faheem's independent leadership  skills have not been well tested.  He is almost universally  liked; in over 30 years in and out of the parliament, few can  remember Faheem making even a confrontational speech. 
President Musharraf has indicated that he would prefer to  work with Faheem than with Zardari.  Pakistan Muslim League  (PML) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain reported that  Benazir told him she never fully trusted Faheem because he  was ""too close"" to Musharraf.  PML President Chaudhry Shujaat  Hussain and Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif both  speak highly of Faheem and indicate they can easily work with  him in a coalition.  As recently as 18 months ago, Chaudhry  Shujaat offered to make Faheem's son the Chief Minister of  Sindh, a deal Faheem rejected reportedly because it was  designed to replace a corrupt PML official.  Faheem also  enjoys a friendship with Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam leader Fazlur  Rehman. 
 
6. (S)  Faheem assured Senator Lieberman that he has no  problem working with Chaudhry Shujaat because their fathers  had served together in the Western Pakistan Assembly (Ref D). 
 In his last meeting with Ambassador (Ref B), Faheem went out  of his way to say that Musharraf was a ""good and liberal man""  and he saw no need to seek Musharraf's impeachment in the  next Assembly.  Faheem was more interested in Pakistan's  future than in fighting with the PML after elections. 
 
7. (S)  Faheem's relations with Asif Zardari, however, are  not ideal.  Their styles clash and Faheem appears embarrassed 
  ISLAMABAD 00000676  002 OF 002 
 
  by reports of Zardari's corruption.  Faheem cannot be pleased  that Zardari first named Faheem as the party's choice for  Prime Minister, only to retract the offer and float a trial  balloon about his own candidacy.  NSA Aziz (who also prefers  Faheem to Zardari) told us (Ref C) that Zardari ordered  Faheem back to Sindh after meeting with the U.S. Ambassador. 
We have heard several such stories of Zardari attempting to  limit Faheem's activities.  There is speculation that, if  selected as Prime Minister, Faheem would serve as Zardari's  ""front man"" until Zardari himself could take the position. 
Given his deference to the party, Faheem may agree to serve,  but his working relationship with Zardari may be strained. 
Faheem has maintained contact with Musharraf after Benazir's  death, and there are reports that he may have contemplated a  split from the party, perhaps because of the rivalry with  Zardari.  While Faheem has his own following, it is not clear  how many PPP rank and file would follow him in any party  split. 
  National Experience 
 
8.  (C)  Whether because of security concerns or an order  from Zardari, Faheem told us he has no plans to campaign  outside of his native Sindh. But Faheem does have national  name recognition; in the latest IRI poll, he was the most  popular candidate for PM across party lines. 
 
9.  (C)  If elected, Faheem would continue Benazir Bhutto's  domestic and foreign policy agenda.  He has told us that his  main priorities would be to fight terrorism, improve the  economy and tackle the law and order problem.  He believes  that Pakistan needs a national unity government but has not  specified which parties might be included. 
 
10.  (C)  If proposed as Prime Minister, this would not be  Faheem's first opportunity to lead Pakistan.  In 2002,  Musharraf offered Faheem the job, but Bhutto intervened to  stop him in a complicated maneuver that include a split in  PPP ranks.  Reportedly, she feared development of an  alternative ""non-Bhutto"" power base in the PPP.  Faheem  covered the maneuver by publicly refusing to sever ties with  Benazir (the offer's condition), saying, ""loyalty is more  important for me than the prime ministership."" 
  11.  (C) Faheem was born on August 4, 1939 in Hala, Sindh. 
He won his first National Assembly seat in 1970 and has been  elected five times since.  He served as a Federal Minister of  Communication (1988-90) and Minister of Housing and Public  Works (1994-96), during Benazir's two terms.  Faheem has been  defeated twice in his campaign as Pakistan president (1997  and 2007), probably because the PPP did not have a plurality  at either time. 
  12.  (U) Faheem holds a BS in Agriculture from Sindh  University and reportedly studied in the UK. Faheem has two  children, including a son who is active in provincial  politics.  Despite a secular lifestyle (his preferred  alcoholic drink reportedly is a screwdriver), Faheem has four  wives--two of them from traditional tribal marriages and one  a former air hostess.  One of his wives was a Bangladeshi and  is now deceased, according to the new Bangladeshi ambassador  who is really from Karachi. Despite denials by Faheem's  family, Pakistani liberals accuse them of forcing Faheem's  sisters to ""marry the Quran,"" to prevent division of the  family's massive land holdings.  Faheem describes poetry as  his ""first love,"" and enjoys verses on love, peace, and  simplicity. Like his father did, Faheem leads a spiritual  group called ""Sarwari Jamaat"" which proclaims and promotes  the peaceful spiritual and Sufi values of Islam.  He speaks  fluent English, Urdu and Sindhi. 
PATTERSON