TRIBAL AREAS: VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN THE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 022070 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2016 TAGS: MOPS PGOV PK PREL PTER SUBJECT: TRIBAL AREAS: VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN THE WAZIRISTANS, CROSS-BORDER ATTACKS DOWN REF: A. ISLAMABAD 20570 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 21882 Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) Summary: The jury is still out on the September 5 North Waziristan Agency (NWA) Jirga Agreement. Violations of the agreement continued during October 29 to November 12 period. However, cross-border attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan's Paktika province appear to have decreased dramatically since November 7. Foreign militants displaced from NWA by the agreement are causing substantial friction in South Waziristan. End summary. -------------- Security Incidents in North Waziristan -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Embassy contacts and Pakistani newspapers noted the declining security situation in NWA during the period of this report. Violations of the September 5 NWA Jirga Agreement included: -- November 3: The beheaded body of cleric Maulana Salahuddin was found between Razmak and Makeen. A leaflet attached to his body said he was a U.S. spy. (Violation: No targeted killings.) -- November 5: Unknown persons kidnapped an elderly man named Faizullah. His friends believe local militants kidnapped him because of his anti-militant sympathies. They believe he is dead. (No targeted killings.) -- November 10: Suspected militants fired five rockets at a Frontier Corps camp in Mirali. A local militant spokesman denied local Taliban involvement. (No attacks on GOP facilities.) -- November 10: Prominent pro-government tribal elder Khan Azhar escaped an assassination attempt near Miranshah. (No targeted killings.) -- Other killings and kidnappings occurred in the area, but the motives were unclear. -------------- Violent Two Weeks in South Waziristan -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Embassy contacts report that Uzbek militants who fled to South Waziristan after the September 5 NWA agreement are forcefully resisting local pressure to leave South Waziristan. Locals want the Uzbeks to leave in part because the Uzbeks are engaged in criminal activities including kidnapping for ransom and robberies, but also because GOP officials are pressuring Taliban leaders to evict foreign fighters. Previous FATA security updates noted the attack on anti-foreigner militant Khanan Wazir on September 24 and the murder of two of his supporters on September 27 (ref A). -- November 5: Uzbek militants shot dead Malik Wali Zar, a Khanan associate, at Inzar village. -- November 10: A bomb, presumably placed by Uzbeks, killed four Khanan associates in the Danday area. ¶4. (SBU) In an event not necessarily related to the Uzbek-led violence, on November 7, two rockets were fired over a Scouts Camp in Wana while NWFP Governor Jan Orakzai was meeting with tribal elders (ref B). Five more rockets landed near the camp that evening. The press reports that the GOP has questioned various tribe members suspected of being connected to the missile attacks, which observers doubt were actually meant to injure the Governor. -------------- --- ISLAMABAD 00022070 002 OF 002 Signs of Talibanization in Settled Areas of NWFP -------------- --- ¶5. (SBU) Media reports that the Taliban were distributing pamphlets in Darra Adamkhel, approximately 40 kilometers south of Peshawar, warning tribal elders to "behave themselves" and threatening to close down girls schools. -------------- -------------- Attacks on Coalition Forces Near the Pakistan Border -------------- -------------- ¶6. (S/NF) Cross-border attacks have decreased dramatically along the border between Afghanistan's Paktika province and Pakistan's North and South Waziristan since November 7. Office of Defense Representative-Pakistan (ODRP) attributes the decrease to the commencement of Operation Catamount Blitz (septel). ¶7. (S/NF) ODRP reports the following security incidents within five kilometers (km) of the Pak-Afghan border (nearest Pakistani agency in parentheses): -- November 2: Seventeen rockets fired at border control post (BCP) 213, observed 6 km southeast of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shkin. Point of origin 200 meters from border. (South Waziristan) -- November 2: Task Force (TF) Vanguard patrol received rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and small arms fire (SAF) 15 km southeast of FOB Chamkani. Point of origin within 2 km of border. (Kurram) -- November 2: TF Catamount reported SAF and machine gun fire. Enemy positions and point of origin were within Pakistan. Observation post 4 (OP4) observed 15 enemy personnel. (North Waziristan) (Note: A serious violation of the NWA Jirga Agreement.) -- November 3: TF Catamount reported 9 rockets in vicinity of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bermal. (South Waziristan) -- November 4: Rockets fired at FOB Sarkoni. (Bajaur) -- November 8: TF Catamount reported two ACMs, one with RPG, maneuvering 13 km northeast of FOB Bermel. (North Waziristan) -- November 8: TF Titan reported two rockets impacted inside FOB Naray. (Chitral/Dir) -- November 10: Patrol engaged ACM east of FOB Mangretey. ACM egressed east into Pakistan, in violation of the NWA agreement. (North Waziristan) -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) President Musharraf himself admits that the NWA agreement has not been as successful as he had hoped, but he believes more time is needed before judging the agreement a failure. Meanwhile, a local journalist told Poloffs November 16 that residents in much of FATA are "terrified" of local militants and are reluctant to report on training camps and other suspicious activities, particularly in the wake of the October 30 attack on the extremist "madrassa" training camp in Bajaur. Such fear further complicates getting an accurate picture of realities on the ground in the tribal areas. End comment. CROCKER