[PF:165485] Nawaz Sharif's "commitment" to the War on Terror

ZoneAsia-Pk

The following excerpt from a DAWN-Wikileaks cable shows how pro-America Nawaz Sharif really is. But in the words of Anne Patterson, Nawaz and his party are as close to Islamic fundamentalists as any other, and the Americans are fully aware of the Saudi line that Nawaz is supposed to toe…

GWOT Commitment

14. (C) While PPP is decidedly more vocal about the need to fight extremism, the platform of both parties stresses their preference for dialogue over military action in combating militancy. Nawaz at every opportunity has reminded us that he overrode his chief of staff to join the U.S. in the first Gulf War and criticized Musharraf for allowing the growth of Talibanization in Pakistan.

15. (C) Nawaz returned from exile because the Saudis refused to keep him any longer and reportedly wanted a counterweight to the liberal, Shia-connected Benazir Bhutto. The Saudis provided Nawaz with an armored car and reportedly lots of campaign cash. There is at least one poster in Lahore that features King Abdullah between pictures of Nawaz and Shahbaz. Nawaz's wife reportedly is quite conservative, but so is PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's wife. It is not clear that PML-N's ties to the religious parties are any stronger or more significant than those of Musharraf's party. Both PML leaders Chaudhry Shujaat and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi have connections to conservative Deobandi madrassas, and Musharraf was perfectly willing (as was Bhutto) to deal with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party.

16. (C) Comment: Zardari's initial instincts are to find practical solutions, and an alliance with Nawaz makes sense from a pure power calculus. But this is round one of what could be protracted negotiations.

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