PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: PUBLIC REACTION TOUR D'HORIZON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 015736

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/18/2015
TAGS: AEMR ASEC EAID MASS PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: PUBLIC REACTION TOUR D'HORIZON

REF: ISLAMABAD 15463

Classified By: Derived from DSCG 05-01, b and d


1. (SBU) Summary: Public criticism of the Government of
Pakistan's (GOP) relief operations continues. Media images
of angry survivors still waiting for adequate relief, coupled
with often-inaccurate and inflamatory editorials are fueling
this resentment. Opposition parties have seized on this
criticism to demand a full debate in the National Assembly in
an effort to discredit the GOP. Private individuals,
companies, political parties and non-governmental
organizations have initiated charitable drives, establishing
collection points nationwide. Some of these efforts are
being channeled into GOP relief operations, while in other
cases direct delivery to victims is being undertaken.
Efforts by radical clerics to argue against acceptance of
relief supplies from non-Muslim countries has failed, and
public opinion seems very much in favor of taking aid from
any donor, including Israel and India. End Summary.

Islamabad/Rawalpindi
--------------


2. (SBU) With numerous Kashmiri families living and working
in Islamabad, nearly everyone knows someone affected by this
natural disaster. Collection and donation points have been
established by government entities, private businesses,
political parties, and NGOs. Banners and advertisements
exhort residents to contribute generously, and many are doing
so. Prominent politicians and businessmen have used the
opportunity to publicize their generosity. Many of the
donations collected are funneled to GOP-relief efforts,
although in some cases private individuals, charities, and
political parties are attempting to transport donations by
road to Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) with decidedly mixed
results. Public criticism of the government-relief efforts
remain vocal and widespread. Anger remains over the collapse
of the Margalla Tower apartments, the substandard
construction of which appears to be the result of local
government corruption. Media continues to criticize the
speed and coordination of the GOP's response; there are daily
stories from areas that have yet to recieve sufficient help.
Opposition parties are attacking the GOP relief effort. A
National Assembly open debate on October 14 degenerated into
a shouting match with opposition politicians denouncing the
GOP as incompetent. The opposition has requested a full
parliamentary debate on relief efforts. Foreign donor aid
has been uniformly welcomed and the magnitude of the response
(which is visibly apparent at the international airport) has
won praise from even normally critical audiences. Indeed,
initial Islamist objections to aid from non-Muslim countries,
particularly Israel and India, were quickly silenced as
public opinion seemed firmly in the other direction.

Kashmir and NWFP
--------------


4. (SBU) Post has reports from Pakistan-controlled Azad
Kashmir (AJK) that the GOP response has not been
well-received. Unrealistically high expectations of the
army's ability to deliver relief supplies coupled with severe
logistical challenges and deteriorating weather conditions
have created a well-spring of resentment. Reports of attacks
on aid convoys and distribution centers by villagers continue
to filter back from the area, indicating a continuing sense
of desperation. While the GOP's growing focus on
reconstruction may overcome this initial anger, for the
moment AJK appears to feel largely neglected by the center.
This perception endures despite international relief worker
assessments that relief efforts (both GOP and private) are
being distributed equitably among the affected areas based on
need and accessibility.


5. (SBU) In the North West Frontier Province (NWFP),business
remains entirely focused on earthquake relief. Charity
drives are on the upswing, as people grasp the enormity of
the damage to northeastern districts that now face a very
difficult winter. The relief effort continues to be hampered
by a lack of overarching authority. The Islamist Muttahida
Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) government has been on the move
throughout the hardest hit areas to coordinate the relief
efforts with federal and Army units. Within the MMA,
officials are sniping at each other over the first-time
attendance of Chief Minister Durrani at the October 12
National Security Council meeting. JI officials are saying
"once, but never again," while JUI-F leaders argue such
attendance is necessary to mount a more effective relief
response. In the Provincial Assembly, parties passed a
unanimous resolution on October 17, calling for a specific
earmark of international relief funds for NWFP. This
reflects a deeply-rooted distrust in national decision-making
that the assembly feels will short change the province. The
English-language provincial press remains critical of the
Army for an insufficient initial response, its refusal of
Indian helicopter support, and its failure to divert more
defense resources to the crisis. The Urdu-language
provincial press has, in contrast, been uniformly
complimentary of army efforts in the province.
Punjab
--------------


6. (SBU) In Punjab, provincial and local efforts to collect
and funnel relief efforts north are prominent and ongoing.
While opposition parties remained relatively quiet during the
first week following the earthquake, they have now begun to
break their silence. Opposition members explained that they
had refrained from criticizing the government relief efforts
in order to present a unified front, as well as to avoid the
appearance of taking political advantage of the crisis. The
initial grace period has now come to an end and they will
raise their complaints at the October 20 provincial assembly
session. Both opposition politicians and PML members have
begun to criticize the lack of information and transparency
in the collection and distribution of relief goods and
donations. They additionally criticized a perceived lack of
concern from both federal and provincial leaders. The
continued absence of the Chief Minister is cited as the prime
example. Instead of being in the affected areas with the
people, the leadership remains in Islamabad or, in the case
of the Chief Minister, hosting fundraisers in Washington, DC.
One PML member noted that although Nawaz Sharif had major
faults, during the flood in Punjab he was seen distributing
goods to to the victims. She stated "This is not a people's
government and it comes across at a time like this."

Karachi
--------------


7. (SBU) Karachi is taken with the call to help fellow
Pakistanis in the earthquake zone. Collection sites for
relief goods have sprung up at schools, on military bases,
near mosques and bus stations. Karachi university students
and others have lined up to give blood and appeals for
monetary donations are plastered on bill boards and the sides
of buildings. Large amounts of money have reached NGO's such
as the well respected Edhi Foundation. Pakistan Navy Karachi
Commander Vice Admiral Muhammad Asad Qureshi stated that each
of Pakistan's armed services stationed in Karachi have
"adopted" a zone in the earthquake effected area and plan to
focus their individual attention in those particular areas.
(Note: It is unclear if this is an organized effort. End
note.) All major local press was dock-side for the October
18 arrival of the USS Pearl Harbor and off-loading of its
humanitarian relief cargo, providing favorable coverage of
this USG assistance. In courtesy calls with the Pakistan
Navy's District Commander, the Fleet Commander and the
Karachi Port Trust, Pakistani hosts thanked the United States
for assisting relief operations, saying that they would
facilitate future port calls to the maximum extent possible.
This warmth seems to be shared by many here in Karachi. In
full dress whites, our visiting US Navy officials received
waves and smiles as they passed in a Pakistan Navy motorcade
from call to call. At one traffic intersection a group of
covered women leaned out of the back of a taxi-bus to smile
and wave. Pakistani men on the side of the road nodded their
heads in agreement.

Balochistan
--------------


8. (SBU) In contrast to other parts of the country, sources
in Balochistan report that business continues as usual in
much of the province. Collection points appear active only
in Quetta and Pashtun areas in the north. Baloch-audience
papers reportedly returned to their normal news coverage at
the end of last week. According to one Baloch tribal leader,
most Baloch view AJK and NWFP as totally outside their area
of interest. While tribal loyalty among Pashtuns compel
sympathy with their NWFP compatriots, there is no prevailing
sense of national tragedy in Baloch areas. If anything, a
certain amount of resentment prevails that a similarly
massive national and international relief operation did not
materialize when massive floods devestated parts of
Balochistan earlier in the year.


9. (C) Comment: One-week after the earthquake, resentment
over what the public views as slow and uncoordinated GOP
relief operations continues to build. President Musharraf
remains above-the-fray, leaving the military and the Federal
Relief Commission in the Prime Minister's Office (the
designated execution coordination points for relief efforts)
to bear the brunt of the criticism. While the opposition
hopes to use public anger over the GOP response to discredit
the President, neither the childish name-calling at the
October 14 National Assembly debate or its refusal to attend
an October 18 FRC briefing held at the PM's Secretariat
helped the opposition's cause. The media is asking
increasingly uncomfortable questions about the state's
historic failures on disaster preparedness and tolerance of
shoddy construction projects. Those in the affected-areas
remain skeptical of GOP-assistance, largely a factor of their
current desperation and beyond the GOP's control. We believe
that as the situation stabilizes and reconstruction begins,
the GOP retains the opportunity to rebuild its image with
these parts of the population. End Comment.
CROCKER