WikiLeaks: The US officials love gossip

In the excitement of uncovering scoops and governments’ wheeling dealings in the WikiLeaks cables, the media seems to have missed the US officials’ love for gossip.

The cables from the Islamabad embassy for instance are a treasure trove of gossip, rumours and scandals about our politicians and the other political players that strut about on our stage.

Our politicos gossip, confess and unburden themselves to the American officials as if in a therapy session. And the US officials seem to lap it all up and report much of it faithfully and sincerely as revealed by the cables. Were they too having fun? Or is it because they realise that most politics is gossip in Pakistan.

Consider the cable of March 2008 in which Ambassador Anne Patterson reported that Asif Ali Zardari who was at that stage mulling over prime ministerial candidates, told her that “[Amin] Fahim was a bad choice [for prime minister]”. He further told the ambassador that “Fahim had spent most of the campaign in Dubai (with his latest 22 year-old wife) and was simply too lazy to be Prime Minister.”

What the cable does not clarify is whether or not the laziness had anything to do with the young wife that is mentioned.

But lest one think the ambassador didn’t like Fahim, she soon turns her guns elsewhere.

She goes on to add that “… after Benazir’s death, Zardari continues to feel quite comfortable with strong women. PPP Information Minister-Designate Sherry Rehman provides Zardari with guidance on party politics and public affairs. She has been a key negotiator on coalition negotiations to apportion ministries. Rehman also is credited with giving Zardari a sartorial makeover and controlling his press conferences.”

Clearly the Americans had noted the effort Zardari had made with his appearance after taking over the party.

In another cable where the US embassy in Islamabad tried to piece together the events that led to the firing of National Security Advisor Major General (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. The latter was fired by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani for revealing that Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani citizen (the government had already decided to make the fact public but Gilani just didn’t approve of the announcement that Durrani made without any prior warning to the prime minister).

It was left to Rehman Malik to explain the incident to the Americans. Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed to Ambassador Patterson, “Durrani had never managed to develop good chemistry with the PM. As you know, he said ‘the PM is not very smart.’ The PM had been smarting for weeks that he was out of the loop and not kept informed by his ministers on a range of issues. Speaking about his own relations with Gilani, Malik said that he had an air-clearing session with Gilani a few days ago and arranged to have better cell phone connections with him.” Poor Malik: he has been in the dog house with most PPP stalwarts since day one and its not just Zulfikar Mirza who does not like him.

Another good source of gossip was the former hapless finance minister.

That former finance minister Shaukat Tarin had a tough time trying to manage Pakistan’s economy is common knowledge. But how many know that he was frustrated enough to have told the Americans at the height of the Long March crisis in 2009 that “Zardari simply ‘does not listen’…” Enough said. Not really; the former finance minister had a lot more to vent about.

Complaining once about the hidden costs of the government service structure, Tarin also told the Americans in April 2009 that “Chief of Army Staff General Kayani’s base monthly salary is less than $700, for example, although if perks are included it might approach $12,000. In contrast, when Tarin was at Citibank his monthly salary was $15,000 in cash.” Wonder what the breakdown of these military perks would reveal.

The gossip from the PML-N is no less fascinating.

That the Americans preferred Nawaz Sharif’s advisors’ to him is obvious from the title of a cable about PML-N’s inner dynamics — PML-N Kitchen Cabinet: Nawaz’s Better Half. The cable added that though the exile had matured Sharif, “with breaking news, his inner circle still dashes to get a hold of him before the press gets a scintillating quote.”

And while the PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Elahi spent hours discussing Musharraf’s future with the Americans, they probably had little idea that their party men had made them the focus of gossip.

The PML-Q dissidents went so far as to argue to the Americans that one of the reasons for their break from the mother party was Hussain’s physical being. In a cable from September 2009, Hamid Nasir Chattha said Hussain suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was not in a position to lead the party while Saleem Saifullah complained that Shujaat’s “lack of verbal acuity” was a hindrance in this “media age.”

But there is no doubt that the US officials have a sense of humour that is unmatched by the politicos they deal with. In a cable from January 2007, the embassy is discussing nominations for inclusion in the Women’s Empowerment Strategy Session. After discussing the usual suspects such as Zubaida Jalal and Asma Jahangir, the cable suggests that an atypical candidate, Begum Nawazish Ali, be considered. According to the cable, “the widow of a retired Army Colonel” the transvestite alter ego of Ali Salim hosts a bold and compelling talk show.

All in all, the WikiLeaks give an insight into the minds of our politicians, who might not have gone to the couch with Sigmund Freud but are happy to make do with the US ambassadors.

Arifa Noor is Dawn’s resident editor in Islamabad.
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