PAKISTAN IDP CRISIS: EFFORTS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001033 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREF PK EAID PREL PINR PTER SUBJECT: PAKISTAN IDP CRISIS: EFFORTS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN REF: A) Islamabad 1026 B) Islamabad 1007 C) Islamabad 996 D) Islamabad 967 E) Islamabad 940 ¶1. (U) Summary: On May 12 newly appointed Pakistan IDP emergency assistance coordinator Lt. General Nadeem Ahmad and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Division (EAD) Hina Rabbani Khar provided donors an overview of the GOP's new institutional arrangements and approach for dealing with the IDP crisis. Donors and international humanitarian assistance providers have already noted a marked improvement in coordination with the GOP since Nadeem's appointment. End Summary. ¶2. (U) With the appointment of Lt. General Nadeem Ahmad to lead the Government of Pakistan's IDP emergency response efforts, coordination within the government, with donors, and with the international assistance community has already shown marked improvement. At a May 12 general coordination meeting organized by the UN, Minister of State for Economic Affairs Division (EAD) Hina Rabbani Khar and Lt. General Nadeem Ahmad described a number of institutional measures being put in place to facilitate coordination and an effective emergency response. ¶3. (U) Echoing the Prime Minister's speech to the nation, Minister Khar explained that the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) Government will be responsible for the emergency assistance effort, and a "Special Support Group" headed by Nadeem at the federal level will provide support to the provincial government, working as an extension of the Provincial Relief Commissioner. The Special Support Group will include representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Health, Foreign Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Finance and Government, and Khar noted that the role of the National Disaster Management Authority in this crisis had been "subsumed" by Nadeem's Special Support Group. ¶4. (U) The single source of government information on funding will be the Minister of Information, and the representative for donor coordination will be Minister of State for EAD Khar. Khar indicated that the government realized that maximum effort was necessary to address the crisis and that this could not be business as usual. She said that the government realized the scope of the challenge and the risk of "loosing the war because of IDPs." She said the government also realized the huge reconstruction challenge ahead when the crisis is over. She said that the Prime Minister's special fund would be used to galvanize local support and that attention would be paid to transparency. She stressed that the Pakistan government had not waited for donor response to the crisis and had already disbursed fifty percent of its 1 billion rupee ($12.5 million) pledge to the NWFP government. ¶5. (U) Lt. General Nadeem said that he and his (1st Corps) staff are fully operational in Peshawar. They are organized along cluster lines, will also focus on information management, will interface with international organizations, and will establish a "facilitation center" to ensure the smooth flow of assistance, customs clearance, visas, etc. The GOP will use 1.5 million IDPs as its planning number. There will be three levels of coordination: federal (handled by the Ministry of Information),provincial (handled by the Relief Commissioner),and district (handled by the commissioner or deputy commissioner TBD). They will first coordinate relief, then facilitate voluntary and assisted return, and finally ensure rehabilitation. The Special Support Group will interface with government departments, the donor community (national and international),the military (both headquarters and the military formation doing operations),and local community leaders. Nadeem stressed the importance of knowing what the military is thinking and planning so that relief is not playing catch up or "falling short of the population's expectations". ¶6. (U) Nadeem indicated that liaison with the military was essential as it could provide: a military medical battalion, two field hospitals as well as male and female doctors, paramedics, etc; manpower for the preparation of campsites and security; transport for relief goods and IDPs; water supplies; and relief in the conflict zone (including seeking helicopters to facilitate bringing in supplies and taking out the wounded). ¶7. (U) Nadeem said that the Special Support Group would provide an emergency plan to the Prime Minister next week. Nadeem addressed head on issues that have been plaguing the emergency relief effort. He will work with the NWFP authorities and UNHCR to avoid conflicting numbers of IDPs. He said he would focus on the particular IDP needs caused by the extreme heat at this time of year (mosquito nets, fans, etc.) and also on the needs of the community remaining in conflict areas. ISLAMABAD 00001033 002 OF 002 ¶8. (U) Nadeem stressed the magnitude of the crisis, but also noted that except for security, it posed less of a challenge than the 2005 earthquake, the impact of which covered a greater area and caused more devastation. ¶9. (U) UN humanitarian assistance leaders have already noted a marked improvement in coordination with the GOP since Nadeem's appointment. The UN and the GOP are providing consensus figures on IDP's, and there is increased coordination on issues of registration and assistance. The Pakistani "Daily Times" of May 13 included a joint appeal from World Food Program and the NWFP's Emergency Relief Unit that urges people to "support an IDP family for Rs. 6000". A separate news item quotes the NWFP Minister of Interior indicating that all donations to the Chief Ministers' Special Fund for IDPs will be transferred to the WFP. PATTERSON