Zardari wanted a deal with US to strengthen his position: WikiLeaks

A secret cable of 2010 accessed by WikiLeaks has revealed that President Asif Ali Zardari had told US Senator John Kerry that he needed a deal with the Unites States to strengthen his political position in order to show the people of Pakistan that he had something to offer them, Geo News reported Monday.

The diplomatic cable was sent by then US ambassador Anne W Patterson on February 23, 2010 about a meeting between President Zardari and US Senator John Kerry.

Kerry encouraged Zardari to develop trade agreements with Pakistan’s neighbours and agreed to Zardari’s request to build consensus for liberalising US trade with Pakistan. Zardari lamented that he was ‘a casualty’ of the world recession, and requested US support to relieve IMF conditions on the Pakistani economy. He said he needed ‘a deal’ with the United States to strengthen his political position,” said the ambassador.

Zardari expressed his gratitude for US assistance to Pakistan. He opined that he was a casualty of the world recession and needed something to give his people, as all they had since he came to power were price increases.

Zardari requested that the USG weigh in with the IMF against further electricity tariff increases. Another increase, he warned, would result in riots in the streets. However, Zardari promised to broaden the tax base and implement a Value-added Tax (VAT), as required by the IMF Stand-by Arrangement.