TFPK01: POLITICAL PARTIES AND MILITANT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 015286

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2015
TAGS: PGOV PTER EAID MOPS PK
SUBJECT: TFPK01: POLITICAL PARTIES AND MILITANT
ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATE IN RELIEF EFFORTS

REF: A. (A) ISLAMABAD 15278


B. (B) ISLAMABAD 15254

C. (C) ISLAMABAD 15208

D. (D) ISLAMABAD 15130

Classified By: Derived from DSCG 05-01, d


1. (U) Summary: Pakistan's political parties are mobilizing
their own relief/recovery operations for victims of the South
Asian earthquake. All have promised to send funds, supplies,
and teams to the affected areas and several are setting-up
independent relief camps. In addition, Kashmiri
militant/terrorist organizations and Pakistani sectarian
extremist groups have initiated their own fundraising drives
and relief operations ostensibly to benefit earthquake
survivors. End Summary.


2. (U) While public criticism of the GOP response to the
October 8 earthquake has increased, political parties have
taken a largely constructive line. In parliament, leaders of
all parties pledged not to try and score political points off
the national tragedy and promised to cooperate in an effort
to help victims. Members of the National Assembly voted
unanimously to donate the equivalent of a month's salary each
to a National Assembly fund to help earthquake victims. The
Senate is expected to follow suit. The opposition cancelled
its long-planned anti-government demonstrations for October

12. However, provincial leaders of the Pakistan People's
Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have not
uniformly followed the cooperative national line with several
publicly criticizing the slow pace of GOP relief.


3. (U) Cooperation between parties in administering aid,
however, is noticeably lacking. The Pakistan Muslim League
(PML),PPP, and PML-N have all established separate relief
funds to assist earthquake victims. All intend to establish
relief camps in the hardest hit areas, and PML has already
set-up a national camp at its headquarters in Islamabad. The
Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has dispatched a team of
doctors to the earthquake zone and has promised to send
additional relief teams.


4. (U) The Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F) are providing support to
NWFP and Azad Kashmir victims of the earthquake through their
respective charitable arms, the al-Khidmat Foundation and the
al-Khair Trust. JI leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed has been
critical of the size of initial pledges from western donors
and has demanded that the Pakistan military not participate
in relief operations as it "has lost the trust of the
Pakistani people."


5. (SBU) Jamaat-ud-Dawa (parent organization of the
designated FTO Lashkar-e-Tayyaba),which has an
already-established social development program in Azad
Kashmir and NWFP, has promised to provide relief assistance
to victims, including supplies and medical relief. Similarly
Jamaat-ul-Ansar (an alias of designated FTO Harakat
ul-Mujahidin) and Hizbul Mujahidin (a Kashmiri militant
group) have pledged supplies, funds, and personnel for relief
operations in Azad Kashmir. Sectarian extremist
organizations Sunni Tehrike and Sipah-i-Sahaba have both
established funds to support earthquake victims. It is
unclear how these will be used to provide relief.


6. (C) Comment: With public opinion increasingly critical of
the perceived slow-pace of the GOP response, opposition
leaders have decided there is little to be gained by
involving themselves directly in a political confrontation.
Qazi's statements aside, their decision to "cooperate" in the
national interest has been uniformly praised. While the
parties' relief operations are likely to remain small and
uncoordinated, such humanitarian activism is seen as a
routine and necessary extension of "constituent services,"
which are critical to votes.
CROCKER