VZCZCXRO9444
RR RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1460 1660633
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140633Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4366
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
UNCLAS KABUL 001460
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG
NSC FOR WOOD
OSD FOR SHIVERS
CENTCOM FOR CG CJTF-101 POLAD
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV AF
SUBJECT: MOHAQEQ TILTS AGAINST KARZAI
1. (SBU) MP Mohammad Mohaqeq, a leader of the predominantly
Hazara Hezb-i-Wahdat party, continues to try to unify his
divided ethnic group into a bloc that can maneuver between
Karzai and the opposition United Front. Though he might
prefer to encourage both into a bidding war for Hazara
votes, he is increasingly inclining towards the United
Front.
2. (SBU) Mohaqeq perceives an increasingly pro-Pahstun bias
in Karzai's policies, which is eroding the multi-ethnic
appeal that secured the president's 2004 election victory.
During a late May conversation with us, Mohaqeq condemned
Karzai's recently established Independent Directorate for
Local Governance (IDLG) as a "Pashtun tool." He also
evinced suspicion about Karzai's eagerness to reconcile
Pashtun renegades Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Mullah Omar.
3. (SBU) Though he fought viciously against the Tajik-
dominated United Front's antecedent, the Northern Alliance,
during the civil war, Mohaqeq now praises the political
opposition, without formally joining it. He has found
common cause with his old enemies in the goal of
forestalling forever the re-establishment of the Pashtuns'
centuries-old hegemony in Afghanistan. Mohaqeq said he is
determined to hold the election law hostage as long as it
contains the article preserving the 10-seat lower house
reservation for Pashtun Kuchis.
DELL