OPERATION LAUNCHED TO OPEN KOHAT TUNNEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PESHAWAR 000472 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/27/2018 TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK SUBJECT: OPERATION LAUNCHED TO OPEN KOHAT TUNNEL REF: A) PESHAWAR 468, B) PESHAWAR 449, C) PESHAWAR 84 CLASSIFIED BY: Michael A. Via, Acting Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate Peshawar, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Inspector General of the Frontier Corps (IGFC) reported that security forces launched an operation in the areas surrounding Darra Adam Khel in Frontier Region Kohat on September 23 after nearly a month of more limited activity. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) office claimed that security forces had killed over 50 militants since August 29 when the militants took control of the Kohat Tunnel. The purpose of the new offensive is to clear the Kohat tunnel, which links Peshawar with the southern districts of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) on the Indus Highway. The tunnel was closed after the arrest of a local taliban commander and clashes with security forces, which involved a suicide attack. Despite the limited cordon and search operations that the police and security forces began in late August, the security situation has continued to deteriorate. Thousands of residents have fled the area, as the southern districts continue to be cut off from Peshawar and businesses have been adversely affected. Some areas of neighboring Kohat, meanwhile, have formed lashkars (volunteer militias) to combat the militants. Security Forces Attempt to Clear Tunnel in Time for Eid -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) The newly appointed IGFC, Tariq Khan, told the Acting Principal Officer in Peshawar that security forces launched Operation Eagle Swoop Phase-II on September 23. The objective is to secure the Pakistan-Japan Friendship Tunnel, more commonly known as the Kohat Tunnel, so that it can be reopened for traffic. For several days the government had been criticized by political parties and popular protests for not controlling vital positions along the main road artery linking the southern half of the province with Peshawar, despite the limited cordon and search operations that the Frontier Corps and police operation have conducted since August 29. The IGFC hopes to clear the tunnel before the heavy travel expected for the Eid holiday following Ramadan, likely to begin on October 1. ¶3. (C) The ISPR office claimed that the security forces killed 50 militants since late August and caused hundreds more to flee �0A;the area. Civilian contacts say that the security forces have not reopened the tunnel, contrary to headlines in the national press, and that the gains are not yet clear. The Frontier Corps (FC) issued a press release a few days before the operation began, charging miscreants in the area with attacking law enforcement personnel, looting banks and disrupting traffic on the Indus Highway. The FC claimed that local residents were calling on security forces to reestablish the writ of the government. Multiple local contacts suspect that militant activities in Frontier Region Peshawar and along the Kohat Road leading to Peshawar are being staged in Darra Adam Khel. The IGFC said that this operation, however, delayed a planned offensive in Peshawar district at Michni, on the border with Khyber and Mohmand agencies. Tunnel Closed for Nearly Four Weeks -------------- ¶3. (C) Militants moved in to take over the Kohat Tunnel on August 29, a day after the arrest of two of their local commanders and the same day they mounted a suicide attack at the tunnel. An explosives-laden vehicle detonated when it came under fire by security personnel at the tunnel. Thirty-six members of the security forces were injured, including a colonel (ref. B). Just days later on September 2, militants fired several rockets at the tunnel, causing peripheral damage (ref. A). The security forces last recaptured the tunnel in late January amidst rising militancy in the area (ref. C). Post contacts claim that shelling by the security forces in the past month has damaged ten villages and five mosques in the Darra Adam Khel area, known as a hub for gun manufacturing and approximately ten kilometers northwest of the tunnel. PESHAWAR 00000472 002 OF 002 A Marked Deterioration in Security since August -------------- -- ¶4. (C) The security situation in Darra Adam Khel began deteriorating in August when militants stepped up their attacks on local targets. The local taliban have been demanding the release of five of their commanders arrested in Hangu and Darra Adam Khel, according to press reports. In the most notable attack, a remote-controlled bomb killed six members of the Frontier Constabulary in the town on September 16 as their convoy conducted a routine patrol. The very next day on September 17, militants blew up a nearby bridge on the Indus Highway. Militants ambushed a Frontier Constabulary check post at Spina Thana at the northern entrance of Darra Adam Khel four days later, injuring 19 personnel. On September 28, a day before the full operation began, a remote-controlled bomb struck an army convoy, killing one soldier. Over the past two months, militants have burned or damaged many schools in the area. No Direct Route between Southern NWFP and Peshawar -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) The residents of the southern half of NWFP have also been affected by the situation in Darra Adam Khel, because the tunnel and the Indus Highway are important road links to Peshawar. The route via nearby Kotal Pass, which had been the primary north-south link until 2003 when the tunnel was completed, is also closed due to the militancy. Alternate roads through Orakzai are dangerous due to the local taliban check posts, where militants ask drivers to show identity cards and remove their shirts, apparently to identify Shi'a travelers who often have scars on their backs from self-flagellation during the ritual of Ashura (ref. A). Residents of Kohat, Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Hangu districts are all affected, as are those living in North and South Waziristan. (Note: Kurram has been cut off entirely since November because of militant control of the Thall-Parachinar road linking the agency to Hangu. End note.) Drive times and costs of public transportation have tripled or quadrupled with the tunnel's closure. Businessmen are reporting declining stocks and rising prices on essential commodities due to the difficulty in delivery goods to the region. Arms manufacturers in Darra Adam Khel claim that their business has come to a standstill. Families Fleeing the Area, Lashkar Formed in Kohat -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) The government has imposed a curfew on the area since August 29, but thousands of residents have fled in the past month due to the unrest and food shortages. The district administration in neighboring Kohat recently set up a relief camp to house some of the displaced, though many families are fleeing to Peshawar or staying with friends and relatives. On September 11 the people of neighboring Kohat set up a lashkar to defend themselves against the spreading militancy, galvanized by the insecurity and the widespread destruction of schools and property in the area. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Operations to clear the Kohat Tunnel have been successful in the past but have failed to prevent the return of militancy to the area. The security forces may indeed achieve their objective of reopening the tunnel in this latest effort. But the prospects of longer term success are unclear. The operation in January had more forces at its disposal and arguably fewer distractions of concurrent operations. The public frustration at the closure of the tunnel could turn more hostile if the government does not succeed in linking the southern districts to Peshawar before Eid. VIA