PAKISTAN MANPADS COLLECTION PROGRAM: JULY 3 FIELD

S E C R E T ISLAMABAD 012689 SIPDIS SIPDIS S-ES/O - PLEASE PASS TO EMBASSY KABUL POL-MIL OFFICER E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016 TAGS: PK PREL PGOV MASS SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MANPADS COLLECTION PROGRAM: JULY 3 FIELD VISIT TO BALOCHISTAN Classified By: DCM Peter W. Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This cable contains an action request: please see paragraph 5. ¶2. (S) On July 3, 2006, POLOFF and PM/WRA Kabul-based EOD contractor Drew Prater flew to Quetta, Balochistan to assist Government of Pakistan (GOP) Ministry of Interior (MOI) program manager COL Abbas and field manager COL Saeed conduct an X-ray examination of items collected by the Balochistan Frontier Corps in April 2006. The consignment (Balochistan FC No. 304) included: -- six (6) missiles -- one (1) gripstock -- ten (10) batteries Prater confirmed COL Saeed's determination that all items in this consignment are genuine. The Balochistan Frontier Corps will retain custody of these items until arrangements can be made for disposal. (Note: Post has requested that the disposal date be scheduled in early September and that Prater return from Afghanistan to witness the destruction, per the Embassy's agreement with the GOP. End note.) ¶3. (S) As this was the first consignment since the USG authorized the transfer of USD 100,000 in seed money In November 2005 to underwrite the resumption of collection activities, as well as the first consignment collected since the USG had transferred an X-ray system to the GOP in October 2005 to verify the authenticity of collected items, COL Abbas and COL Saeed requested that an USG EOD expert also examine the consignment to confirm that the GOP collection team was operating the X-ray system and analyzing its photos correctly. The colonels were exercising an additional degree of caution this first time out with the X-ray system, as payment to the collecting agency depends on the MOI's certification of authenticity as a control against payment for counterfeit items. (Note: The colonels are extremely wary of falling into a situation in which they are forced to re-coup payment from a collecting agency for an item that later proves to be a counterfeit. End note.) Under the terms of the MOI's current agreement with its collection agencies (ISI and Frontier Corps in North West Frontier Province; Frontier Corps in Balochistan),COL Abbas will not/not release payment to the collecting agency until COL Saeed has verified the authenticity of the collected items with the X-ray system. Following COL Saeed's July 3 certification that the items in Consignment No. 304 are genuine, MOI will transfer payment to the Balochistan Frontier Corps. ¶4. (S) Both COL Abbas and COL Saeed are confident that Balochistan Frontier Corps have identified other items available for collection, which they expect to come in soon after the field teams receive payment for the items in Consignment No. 304. The colonels' outlook for collections in North West Frontier Province remains pessimistic, as poor security conditions severely limit the mobility of field collections teams operating in the tribal areas. ¶5. (S) Action Request: This one consignment was valued at USD 54,000 (USD 7500/missile, USD 7500/gripstock and USD 100/battery),more than half of the USD 100,000 seed money transferred to the GOP in November 2006. Post requests that PM/WRA begin to prepare the paperwork for the next infusion of seed money, so that post can facilitate a quick transfer of funds should that become necessary. Additionally, as the GOP program managers have already met and worked with EOD contractor Drew Prater, post requests that PM/WRA make arrangements with his employer so that he will be available for follow-up visits and consultations. Post believes that continuity in contacts between GOP and USG personnel is important to establishing trust and rebuilding momentum in the collections program. CROCKER