DARFUR MISSION DEMARCHE: PAKISTAN WOULD NEED TO

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 002083 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO PK SU SUBJECT: DARFUR MISSION DEMARCHE: PAKISTAN WOULD NEED TO ASSESS SITUATION BEFORE COMMITTING TROOPS REF: STATE 51828 ¶1. (SBU) On May 7, Charge d'Affaires delivered reftel demarche to Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan, urging Pakistan to make a public commitment of troops and police for the future UN/AU hybrid operation. In response, Khan referred to Pakistan's clear, longstanding policy regarding its peacekeeping operations -- it will only commit forces if there is consensus in the destination country to receive the deployment. ¶2. (SBU) Khan mentioned the example of Sierra Leone, where Pakistan first sent an advance mission to assess the situation on the ground. This mission consulted with both the government and opposition before deciding that an agreement between the two was tenable. Only then did Pakistan commit several thousand peacekeeping troops to Sierra Leone. Khan said that Pakistan would first have to send a mission to Darfur before committing to participate in a peacekeeping operation there. BODDE