PAKISTAN MILITARY ARRIVE AT KHYBER BORDER

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 002462 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2018 TAGS: PGOV PK PREL PTER SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MILITARY ARRIVE AT KHYBER BORDER COORDINATION CENTER REF: A. ISLAMABAD 1384 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 2381 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Pakistan's first six man military contingent arrived July 21 at the Khyber Border Coordination Center (BCC) for an initial 3-6 month tour. This long-awaited development will allow ISAF, Pakistani and Afghan military together to monitor real-time INTELLIGENCE on border activity to help avoid a recurrence of the June 10 U.S. strike that killed eleven Pakistani troops. ¶2. (SBU) According to the Office of Defense Representative, Pakistan (ODRP),the Pakistani contingent will train for the first 30 days and learn the process of deconflicting border operations. Following the training period, the BCC will become operational. The Khyber BCC represents the first of a planned six facilities total; the remaining five remain in the planning stages. ¶3. (C) On July 21, FM Qureshi reiterated to Ambassador ongoing Pakistani concerns about hosting a BCC on its side of the border. These include legal questions about where the Durand Line is situated and concern about having foreign troops on Pakistani soil. We will continue to press the Prime Minister to make a decision before his visit to Washington on hosting BCCs in Pakistan. PATTERSON