Officials
Leak Secret Documents to Embarrass General Musharraf in US Visit
Special
SAT Report
KARACHI: Angry or frustrated officials in the Administration
of Pakistan's staunchly pro-American military ruler, General Pervez
Musharraf, last week decided to strike back. Secretly they leaked
highly confidential documents sent by the United States 
Government
to Islamabad, containing all the details of the full range of counter
terrorism measures being undertaken by the two governments.
The
leak to the media of a five-page Non-Paper was apparently aimed
at embarrassing General Musharraf as he prepared for his visit to
the US in a week's time where he will meet President Bush and other
senior US leaders during the UN General Assembly sessions. Releasing
such sensitive papers to the media, specially involving Pak-US relations,
also indicated the extent to which some officials were feeling betrayed
by Musharraf's policies.
The
leaks also raised a major security question for the Musharraf Government
as well as the US Administration: How secure were their communication
channels and what else going on between the two governments could
be leaked in a similar manner, causing some serious embarrassment
or even damage to their joint war against terror in Pakistan, Afghanistan
and elsewhere.
"A
Non-Paper in diplomatic terminology is the text of language agreed
between two sides in formal meetings and the informal minutes which
are exchanged to firm up positions and keep track of the specific
issues to be discussed in specialized group sessions," a former
diplomat explained to SA Tribune.
A copy
of the Non-Paper obtained by 'South Asia Tribune', in Karachi revealed
that Pakistan's Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, was soon to
travel to Washington to discuss these detailed counter-terrorism
plans under the aegis of the US-Pak Counter Terrorism (CT)-Law Enforcement
Joint Working Group (JWP). All government file markings and entries
on these papers had apparently been erased to protect the sources.
No
date for the meeting of the CT-Law Enforcement JWG has yet been
announced but the Non-Paper had a covering letter sent to a Karachi
Department seeking comments latest by August 15, 2002.
The
Non-Paper deals with the steps which had been agreed to be taken
by the two governments in various fields, starting with spending
US$ 3 million by the US Government on upgrading and training of
Karachi Central Intelligence Department (CID) and providing $47
million for passport reforms including centralization of issuance
and providing machine readable passports.
According
to the document there are 16 items listed under the head: "Action
Item for the USG" and another 14 as "Action Item for the
GOP". It mentions the following broad subjects which will be
covered during the visit of Interior Minister Moinddin Haider to
Washington.
The
main subjects to be covered include the issue of Pakistani nationals
in US Custody, exchange of information to investigate and prosecute
organizations of smugglers, exploring ways on how US officials could
work together with the Pakistanis "more proactively" to
deter and detect smuggling through airports, controlling alien smuggling
and border security, besides others.
The
Non-Paper also refers to deployment of US money laundering experts
in Pakistan, if Islamabad so desired and 100 per cent deployment
of picture identification systems at Karachi and other Pakistani
airports.
"The
range of cooperation between the US and Pakistan law enforcement
authorities is so wide that almost at every security point, US presence
would become inevitable, either in the form of physical troops or
machines, cameras or spying equipment relaying images and data to
US officials sitting close by somewhere," a Karachi journalist
who read the US Non-Paper commented to SA Tribune. Click
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Other
subjects to be covered by the Pak-US JWG will include Pakistan Government's
"need to increase judicial attention paid to internal anti-corruption
efforts, lack of efficiency, timeliness and accountability of the
judiciary."
The
Non-Paper says the USG will provide an authenticated copy of the
US Senate Governmental Affairs Sub-Committee on Investigations Minority
Report on Money Laundering, prepared in 1999, in which the Citibank
client and husband of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari was presented
as a "case history" by the Citibank before the Sub-Committee.
http://www.satribune.com/archives/july20_26_02/ussenatereport.htm
The
interesting aspect of this report is that while Pakistan's Finance
Minister Shaukat Aziz was also a witness in this Sub-Committee and
testified in writing, he never provided or facilitated provision
of a certified copy to the Accountability Bureau of the Musharrraf
Government, even after three years. That copy has now been requested
by the Musharraf Government, the Non-Paper reveals.
One
subject mentioned in the Non-Paper relates to training the Karachi
intelligence operative to conduct crime investigations on the crime
scene professionally. For this the US has proposed giving the investigators
small portable brief case sized kits.
The
Pakistanis are also seeking US help for broad based police reforms
enumerating two main 
challenges:
Investigative techniques (finger print evidence collection and matching
capability, ability to intercept communications, and training to
fight cyber crime and institutional management.
Improvement
of law enforcement help in Pakistan's federally administered Tribal
Areas (FATA) where the main anti-Al Qaeda operation is currently
focussed, will also be part of the JWG discussion, according to
the Non-Paper.
In
the South-western Balochistan Province, the Scouts scouts will set
up 30 new border posts to help combat drug smuggling and terrorist
activity along the western border. The two governments will consult
in the area of alien smuggling and points of contact were named
in the Non-Paper. The GOP mentioned the need for building its coast
guard capacity.
A key
area of cooperation is the exchange of wanted persons by the two
governments. GOP will bring to trial four fugitives wanted in US
for Panam 73 Jet crash, it says. GOP will look into extradition
of 6 persons wanted by the US: Nasir Ali Khan, Mohammed Cheema,
Abdus Sattar Khan, Mohammed Ashraf, Syed Ali, Mohammed Rafiq Khan
and Omar Malik. It is not mentioned why these six persons are wanted
by the US authorities.
GOP
will also advise regarding the disposition of 1994 appeal of Tariq
Jamil and provide additional information for extradition of Mir
Kazim Shah while expediting extradition to US of Mohammed Haris
Hasan. In which case he is wanted is not clear.
Pakistan,
on the other hand has been promised that the former PPP Chief Minister
of Sindh, Syed Abdullah Shah, wanted by the Musharraf Government,
will be extradited if he was still found in the US. "Revised
requests will be sent for Abdullah Shah and Munawar and US will
finalise requests and undertake proceedings if these fugitives are
located in US," the Non-Paper says.
On
another issue, the document reveals that the US had rejected a request
by Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), saying "it cannot
provide dedicated helicopter support." But an agreement for
a $73 million Border Security Project is being finalized.
