Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik had told then U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson that it was not chief of army staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani but ISI chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who was hatching conspiracies against President Asif Ali Zardari, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
The U.S. embassy cables revealed that Mr. Malik sought an urgent appointment with Ms. Patterson in November 2009 and said that Gen. Pasha was hatching plots against Mr. Zardari, adding that the president needed political security, The News International reported.
However, Ms. Patterson was certain that the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) could not do it alone.
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According to another diplomatic cable, Gen. Kayani had told the U.S. ambassador during a March 2009 meeting that he “might, however reluctantly” pressure Mr. Zardari to resign.
Gen. Kayani said he might support Asfandyar Wali Khan, leader of the Awami National League party, as the new president — not Mr. Zardari’s arch—nemesis Nawaz Sharif.
Ms. Patterson said Gen. Kayani made it clear that regardless of how much he disliked Mr. Zardari, he distrusted Mr. Sharif even more.
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In yet another cable, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden told then British prime minister Gordon Brown about a conversation he had with Mr. Zardari in 2009.
Mr. Zardari told Mr. Biden that Gen. Kayani and the ISI “will take me out”, according to the cable, which added that Mr. Zardari had made extensive preparations in case he was killed.