FOREIGN MINISTER SMITH'S OFFER OF ASSISTANCE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 000162 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2019 TAGS: AF EAID MARR PK PREL SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER SMITH'S OFFER OF ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN REF: (A) 2008 CANBERRA 1137 (B) 2008 CANBERRA 0374 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR JAMES F. COLE. REASON: 1.4 (C) AND (D) ¶1. (C/NF) Summary: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade First Assistant Secretary for South and East Asia, the Middle East and Africa Deborah Stokes told Polcouns on February 18 that Foreign Minister Stephen Smith's offer of assistance to Pakistan in its struggle against Taliban insurgents includes an increase in military and counter terrorism training for Pakistan's military, Australian police cooperation with Pakistan law enforcement agencies and increased economic and development aid to Pakistan's border areas with Afghanistan. Stokes said that Pakistan press reports that Smith "welcomed" Islamabad's Swat truce agreement with the Taliban are completely false. End summary. INCREASED TRAINING SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN MILITARY AND POLICE ¶2. (C/NF) Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade First Assistant Secretary for South and East Asia, the Middle East and Africa Deborah Stokes told Polcouns on February 18 that Foreign Minister Stephen Smith's offer of assistance to Islamabad, made during his visit this week to Pakistan, includes quadrupling the number of Pakistani armed forces officers enrolled in military training programs in Australia from 10 to 40 annually. She said that a small number of Pakistani military personnel will also receive specialized training in counterterrorism techniques by Canberra, both in Australia and in Pakistan. Stokes noted that Pakistan's military is currently focused on a head-on conventional war with India and needs CT training for its campaign against the Taliban (Stokes said that she told the same thing to the skeptical Indian High Commissioner when the latter came in to query Smith's announcement). She added that the theme of the training programs is "train the trainers" to make the Pakistan military more self reliant in improving its troops' CT skills. ¶3. (C/NF) According to Stokes, the Australian Federal Police will look to increase both training and cooperation with its Pakistan law enforcement counterparts. She said that areas for increased cooperation between the two countries include money laundering, human trafficking and counter-narcotics. In addition, Canberra is looking to increase economic and development assistance to Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan. Stokes said that the purpose of the new Australian assistance "small in comparison to U.S. assistance of course," is to assist and show support for President Asif Zardari's elected government. PAKISTANI PRESS REPORTS THAT SMITH "WELCOMES" SWAT AGREEMENT "TOTALLY FALSE" ¶4. (C/NF) Stokes said that Pakistani press reports that Smith "welcomed" Islamabad's Swat truce agreement with the Taliban are completely false. Stokes added that indeed, while Smith had expressed hope for a positive outcome from the agreement, he had also cautioned the Pakistani leadership that the previous "truce" they had signed with the Taliban had not worked. ¶5. (U) Comment: GOA last year announced a doubling of its development assistance to Pakistan to USD 46 million through 2010 (reftels). The assistance was generally focused on health and education. Embassy will provide additional details of Smith's assistance to Pakistan announcement as it becomes available. CLUNE