PAKISTAN IDP SITUATION REPORT, JUNE 1, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ISLAMABAD 001194 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM EAID PGOV PTER PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN IDP SITUATION REPORT, JUNE 1, 2009 REF: A. ISLAMABAD 1184 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 1180 ¶C. ISLAMABAD 1169 ¶D. ISLAMABAD 1151 ¶E. ISLAMABAD 1143 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Pakistan government is moving to restore security and services to Swat, but the situation remains dangerous for humanitarian assistance provision. ICRC entered Swat on May 31 but cannot yet access Mingora. ICRC hopes to provide some health and food relief in the coming week, but other health service providers, including WHO, still await improved security and GOP permission to enter Swat. ICRC is also now considering doubling its program in Pakistan. A UN assessment of lower Buner District has found the areas assessed safe for return by IDPs and for further assessments by non-Western humanitarian personnel. On May 31, the NWFP Information Minister announced that all government officials in Buner district must return to their offices by June 1. Local staff from Embassy Narcotics Affairs Section and USAID will undertake a damage and needs assessment in Lower Dir on June 2. FATA Transition Initiatives staff embedded in the NWFP Emergency Response Unit took eight print and television journalists to IDP sites in Mardan, Swabi and Thakht-i-Bhai to highlight GOP response to the IDP crisis. An NWFP Senior Minister announced that the payment of 25,000 rupees (USD 312) to every displaced family from Swat, Dir and Buner would start in the next few days, and the amount would double for every family upon return home. End Summary. Mingora, Swat: Government Steps - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) On June 1 in Karachi President Asif Ali Zardari chaired a high-level meeting on Pakistan,s security situation to formulate a response to the Taliban,s intensified campaign. Zardari met with federal ministers, all provincial chief ministers, NWFP Governor Owais Ghani, Azad Kashmir prime minister, the Northern Areas chief executive, the interior secretary, all chief secretaries, all inspectors general of police, the Inter-Services Intelligence director general, and the Intelligence Bureau director general. ¶3. (U) Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Athar Abbas claimed that it will take at least two weeks to restore electricity to Mingora. As doctors arrive to reopen the main hospital, gas was restored and mobile generators were brought in to help restore the water system. As soldiers continued to patrol Mingora,s largely deserted streets and check homes for booby-traps, newspaper accounts described buildings in Mingora as damaged, &but not badly.8 Abbas and other military officials referred to the lessons-learned from the aftermath of the Bajaur operation and emphasized the critical need to bring police back to Swat to patrol the streets in order to &hold8 the district. ICRC Enters Swat; Considers Doubling Program - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) ICRC Head of Delegation Pascal Cuttat told Refcoord on June 1 that at the field level, ICRC has determined that it has no choice but to increase its operation in Pakistan. While this assessment will be considered at the Headquarters level on June 2, Cuttat is envisioning roughly doubling ICRC,s program. ICRC returned to Swat on May 31 and now has teams assessing the situation and needs there. The organization expects to be able to bring in food and medicines within the next week and to provide health services. Access remains very difficult, however. ICRC was not able to enter Mingora, and Cuttat reported that its vehicles on Sunday took six hours to travel 10 kilometers in Swat due to crossfire and ambushes (not directed at ICRC) along the way. He said that while the area is under the general control of the armed forces, it is not yet safe enough for anybody who does not have contacts with &the other side8 as ICRC does. ICRC will continue to try to push into Mingora. Cuttat did not claim to know the real ISLAMABAD 00001194 002 OF 005 situation in Mingora but noted the hardships created by lack of electricity and limited water. WHO Awaiting Permission to Enter Swat - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the organization is standing by with trauma kits, diarrheal treatment kits, basic medicines and supplies, additional staff, and logistical support in order to provide assistance in the city of Mingora and Swat valley when security permits. WHO, which is partnering with the GOP Ministry of Health (MOH),is waiting for authorization and clearance from the GOP SSG for access. As a UN agency, WHO also needs UN Department of Safety and Security clearance before staff can enter Swat valley. WHO,s intention is to support the Mingora city hospital, which is currently barely functional. The previous health assessment, which WHO conducted with the MOH in April 2009, found that 23 out of 45 of the health facilities assessed in the Swat valley were either damaged or operating at less than full capacity. UN Assessment of Lower Buner; Residents and Non-western Humanitarians May Return - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (U) The UN completed an initial assessment of lower Buner District on May 28, and noted that the U.N. considers the areas assessed safe for return by IDPs and for further assessments by non-western humanitarian personnel. OCHA reported that crops, primarily wheat, had been harvested in lower Buner District but noted that government authorities were distributing flyers restricting people from planting maize, tobacco, and other crops that would normally be planted at this time. ¶7. (SBU) The GOP has imposed a 7pm to 7am curfew for the areas assessed in Buner District. The UN assessment team noted heavy damage to infrastructure in Buner, particularly hospitals and other health facilities. The team also noted large amounts of unexploded ordnance. The UN assessment team estimated that as much as 40 percent of the population stayed behind in areas assessed in Buner, while noting that the team observed 20 families leaving on May 28. The UN team reported obvious signs of military activity, including patrols and checkpoints, and noted that the military is &frisking8 civilians to check for weapons. ¶8. (U) On May 31, an NGO told the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) that the organization has provided non-food items to 1,200 conflict-affected households in Buner District and plans to send a mobile health team. The NGO noted that in areas assessed in southern Buner, health posts, police stations, and other government facilities were unstaffed, while only private schools remained open. ¶9. (U) On May 31, NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain announced that all government officials in Buner district must return and be present in their offices by June 1; otherwise, "strict disciplinary actions8 would be taken against them. NAS/USAID Assessment Trip to Buner Planned for June 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶10. (SBU) Several Pakistani locally employed staff from the Embassy,s Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) and USAID will be making an assessment trip to Buner, June 2nd. The NAS personnel will be focusing on police stations in and around Daggar, the district capital, for possible reconstruction; the USAID FSN will look at schools, medical facilities, etc. as part of USAID,s overall reconstruction plan. The team will be accompanied by provincial police officials, and security will be provided by the Frontier Corps. GOP authorities are only allowing non-Westerners in the area, including personnel from humanitarian organizations. Positive Media Coverage on Government IDP Response - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ISLAMABAD 00001194 003 OF 005 ¶11. (SBU) On June 1, the FATA Transition Initiatives (FTI) staff embedded in the NWFP Emergency Response Unit, took eight print and television journalists to IDP sites in Mardan, Swabi and Thakht-i-Bhai to highlight GOP response to the IDP crisis. To date, FTI has issued 160 press releases and garnered 1599 positive stories on television, on radio, and in print about the GOP,s development activities in the FATA, including the GOP,s response to the IDP crisis. Local media included Daily News International, Geo TV, Daily Jang, Daily Nation, Daily Jang Mardan, Daily Aaj, Daily Mashriq, and Dunya TV. Government Announcement on 25,000 Rupee Stipend/IDP Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶12. (U) NWFP Senior Minister Rahim Dad Khan announced that the payment of 25,000 rupees (USD 312) to every displaced family from Swat, Dir and Buner would start in the next few days, and the amount would double for every family upon return home. IDP Numbers - - - - - - ¶13. (U) Total IDP numbers remain uncertain (but over 3 million) pending completion of re-verification by the National Database and Registration Authority. It continues to be expected that re-verification will reduce overall estimates by 20-30 percent. Meanwhile, on May 30, however, roughly 30,000 people came out of upper Swat alone, and into Mansehra. UNHCR is now describing host family capacity as exhausted. ¶14. (U) According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),the government is interested in reducing the number of registration points from 86 to 32 in the six districts hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). The GOP intends to have NADRA representatives present at all registration points to verify identity. Meanwhile, the GOP has indicated that NADRA,s verification of registrations to date will be completed by June 3. ¶15. (U) The GOP has declared that all schools are now to be used as IDP accommodations. As of June 1, according to OCHA, 1,819 schools now accommodate over 101,000 individuals in Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda, Nowshera, and Peshawar districts in NWFP. ¶16. (U) Multiple international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have indicated that some IDPs remain unregistered to-date, due to a lack of clear understanding of the registration process, lack of documentation, or fear of the repercussions of registration on family members remaining in the Swat Valley. NGOs are using additional information, including informal lists maintained by host community and IDP leaders, and NGO staff vulnerability assessments in conjunction with the official registration list in order to provide immediate assistance to IDPs. ¶17. (U) UNHCR and UNICEF report that there are now two new official camps. The first, in Charsadda, is already full (10,000 IDPs) after only two days in existence, and the second, in Peshawar, will open shortly. Political Party Statements - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶18. (U) As the chiefs of two factions of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI),Samiul Haq and Fazlur Rehman agreed the military operation in Malakand was no solution to the country,s problems, the Awami National Party (ANP) stepped up its political attacks on religious parties, following the lead of ANP member and NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour,s statements late last week. NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said that five years of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) rule had helped the Taliban flourish in FATA and NWFP. Hussain said the religious parties, including ISLAMABAD 00001194 004 OF 005 JUI-F, had enacted irresponsible and dual policies toward the Taliban. NGO Activity and Observations - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶19. (U) On May 30 and 31, the USAID/DART program officer and information officer met with three international NGOs responding to the ongoing displacement in NWFP to discuss humanitarian programming. All three NGOs are focusing assistance on IDPs outside of formal camps, including IDPs in schools and other government buildings, IDPs in spontaneous camps, and IDPs living in host communities. ¶20. (U) USAID,s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) is supporting an international NGO to provide immediate assistance through the provision of USD 45 vouchers to 20,000 households, including 15,000 IDP households in schools and host communities and 5,000 host families. ¶21. (U) The NGO noted that in initial assessments IDPs had identified needs including food, clothing, bedding and fans, while host families had indicated shortages in bedding and kitchen supplies. NGO staff noted, however, that needs will vary depending on the IDP household,s location and what other assistance is being provided. The NGO indicated that host families, communities, religious organizations, and local charities are all providing assistance to the IDPs without coordination, thus making vouchers the most flexible method of responding to various needs. ¶22. (U) NGO staff noted that if markets are working, as is the case in Mardan and Swabi districts, then it makes sense to give displaced people cash or vouchers. Alliance Bank has agreed to redeem vouchers for cash, and the NGO is negotiating with Pakistan Post to provide money orders in exchange for vouchers. Food Assistance - - - - - - - - ¶23. (U) On May 30, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) notified the USAID/DART that no food distributions will take place from June 3 to June 8 in order to switch over to the verified IDP registration lists. ¶24. (U) WFP reported that distribution capacity had increased to 150,000 people per day as of May 30, due to an increase to 25 humanitarian hubs. WFP reported distributing monthly dry food rations to 2.4 million registered IDPs as of May 30. For the May distribution, the food ration for each IDP household included 80 kg of wheat, 8 kg of pulses, and 5 liters of vegetable oil. The June distribution will also include sugar, salt and tea. ¶25. (U) The ongoing military operation in Malakand Division has reportedly cut off NWFP,s northernmost district, Chitral, from the rest of Pakistan. All roads to Chitral have been closed, work on the Lawari Rail Tunnel by a Korean company has stopped, and prices of essential items have risen. Food Department officials reportedly said that wheat stocks in Chitral would exhaust in one week. Health - - - - ¶26. (U) A USAID/OFDA NGO partner is currently providing health services in 12 IDP camps, while also supporting eight mobile clinics for IDPs outside of formal camps in Mardan District. The NGO,s medical staff are providing approximately 2,400 consultations per day. The diagnoses are provided to the WHO-managed Disease Early Warning System, also supported by USAID/OFDA, to permit tracking of overall trends and monitoring of any reported outbreaks. To date, the NGO has noted an increase in diarrheal disease among IDPs. Currently, the organization is reporting a stable health situation in NWFP, but staff noted that GOP surge medical staff provided by other provinces will eventually have to return to their posts and will leave additional gaps ISLAMABAD 00001194 005 OF 005 in local health care if IDPs remain in host communities. ¶27. (U) The NGO noted that Mardan District experienced a cholera outbreak in August 2008. WHO and NGOs participating in the UN Health cluster are preparing contingency plans for any recurrence of cholera, including procuring essential treatment supplies such as ringer,s lactate and oral rehydration salts. PATTERSON