Nato containers en-route Pakistan don’t carry arms: WikiLeaks

U.S. Ambassador in Pakistan N. Patterson in a cable dated November 17, 2008 sent to Washington denied that the U.S.-Nato military containers en-route Pakistan to Afghanistan ever carried arms or ammunitions, according to WikiLeaks.

It was reported in the Pakistani media that at times containers were hijacked and arms stolen were being sold across the country, which the cable clarified that arms, ammunitions and sensitive equipments were never carried to Afghanistan by road en-route Pakistan and media reports in this regards are nothing but figment of imagination.

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.

Ch. Nisar’s wife, children are US nationals: WikiLeaks

KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s leader of the opposition in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan assured the US in 2008 that he and his party were pro-American, according to a US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks.  
“Saying that his wife and children are in fact Americans, Nisar did admit that he went to the US Embassy in London to renew his daughter’s passport because he wanted to avoid being seen at the US Embassy in Islamabad.”  
More telling, however, is Khan’s stance on US military action within Pakistan, and how the PML-N would act to remain “publicly credible”.
Nisar reportedly avoided saying that the PML-N opposed either air attacks or US ground action, contrary to its reaction over the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad by a US Navy SEALs team which killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
“What he did say was that the PML-N would have to criticise the Government of Pakistan for allowing US action. Otherwise, said Nisar, the party would have no credibility with the people.”
Nisar said that US policy needed to be more transparent as “confusion bred unhelpful conspiracy theories”. He also told US diplomats that former president Pervez Musharraf was seen as too pro-US and so was “tainted in Pakistani eyes”.
The release of the US embassy and consulate cables in Pakistan has also highlighted how various politicians have lobbied American diplomats for support. From Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) to former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to the late former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, every major politician in Pakistan has looked to the diplomats for help.

Zardari was worried about Lala Fazal's drinking habit: WikiLeaks

KARACHI: A secret cable of 2010 accessed by WikiLeaks has disclosed that President Asif Ali Zardari was worried about Lala Fazal-ur-Rehman's alcohol addiction and that he was doubtful whether Lala will be able to fulfill his duties as administrator or not. 
According to a cable of February 25, 2010, US Consul General in Karachi, Stephen G Fakan wrote to Washington and told the details of the decision making Lala Fazal-ur-Rehman administrator of Karachi while Mohammad Altaf Khatri of Hyderabad.
The cable also discussed details of a private meeting held between Fakan and then Interior Secretary of Sindh, Arif Khan. 
According to the secret cable, Arif Khan was of the view that though Lala gets intoxicated but he was the best candidate for the administrator's job and can give up drinking if given responsibility.
Khan said that President Zardari had also objected over Lala's nomination as administrator due to his excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks.