JUNE 4 DISPLACED PERSONS AND MILITARY SITUATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 001225 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL PHUM EAID PTER PGOV PINR PK SUBJECT: JUNE 4 DISPLACED PERSONS AND MILITARY SITUATION UPDATE ¶1. (U) Summary: Accompanied by the Ambassador, SRAP Holbrooke visited two internally displaced person camps on June 4. The visits were widely broadcast by the local media. Ambassador Holbrooke had met the previous evening with a large group of delegation heads of international agencies and NGOs. The GoP plans to distribute 50,000 metric tons of U.S.-donated wheat to the GoP Special Support Group, the GoP Ministry of Social Welfare and the U.N. World Food Program (WFP). Police arrested 16 people for the sale of substantial amounts of humanitarian food. WFP's use of newly verified registration lists should minimize fraudulent food sales. GoP Information Minister Qamar Kaira said publicly that internally displaced persons would begin receiving the promised 25,000 rupees per family (USD 312) grant on June 9. June 4 reports on military activity in Swat are focused on the town of Charbagh; the military claimed that it had secured the town. Killed in action reports were very light, only three militants and one soldier. The remaining 51 students and staff kidnapped on June 1 in North Waziristan were reportedly released unharmed on June 4. End Summary -------------- SRAP Holbrooke Visits Internally Displaced Persons Camps -------------- ¶2. (U) Accompanied by the Ambassador, on June 4 SRAP Holbrooke visited two IDP camps, Shah Mansour in Swabi and Sheikh Shehzad in Mardan. The visits received heavy media coverage. Ambassador Holbrooke blamed the taliban and Al-Qaeda for the internally displaced persons crisis. He was also quoted as saying that eliminating militancy is the need of the hour. At both places SRAP Holbrooke met with focus groups of internally displaced persons from the camps and hosting communities. -------------- SRAP Holbrooke Meets with International Agency and NGO Heads -------------- ¶3. (U) On June 3 Ambassador Holbrooke met with a gathering of Pakistan-based delegation heads of international agencies and NGOs. In the context of recent re-verification of internally displaced persons numbers, UNHCR outlined the importance of rapid initial registration to permit immediate humanitarian relief followed by re-verification. WFP outlined plans to use revised internally displaced persons lists for food distribution. -------------- USG Rapid Assessment -------------- ¶4. (U) On a June 3 rapid assessment of emergency humanitarian conditions in Sheikh Shehzad displacement camp in Mardan District, the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) team leader noted good camp management, sufficient spacing between tents, adequate health and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, and no acute humanitarian issues in the camp. DART team leader confirmed establishment of a GoP military-run field hospital. Only a few patients were receiving treatment from hospital staff. -------------- Humanitarian Coordination -------------- ¶5. (U) On June 3, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the results from the Multi-Cluster Rapid Assessment Mechanism (MCRAM) will be available during the week of June 8. The MCRAM will focus on the needs of displaced populations outside of formal camps, and plans to survey 40 to 50 communities hosting displaced persons in Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Peshawar, and Charsadda districts. -------------- Food Assistance -------------- ISLAMABAD 00001225 002.2 OF 003 ¶6. (U) According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the GoP Ministry of Food and Agriculture plans to transfer 50,000 metric tons (MT) of wheat donated through USDA's Food for Progress program as follows: 20,000 MT to the GoP Special Support Group; 20,000 MT to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP; and 10,000 MT to the Ministry of Social Welfare. The recipient organizations will be responsible for associated handling, milling, and distribution costs of the food donations. ¶7. (U) WFP food monitors confirmed local news reports of the sale of a substantial amount of humanitarian food assistance through a well-developed network of wholesalers and retailers. On June 3, local police arrested 16 people selling food meant for displaced populations. WFP reported that the problem originated due to double counting and other inaccuracies in registration lists, resulting in a surplus of food distributed in May. WFP also noted that some displaced persons had legitimately sold the wheat grain distributed to buy wheat flour. ¶8. (U) WFP assured the USAID/DART food officer that WFP will henceforth distribute wheat flour and not wheat grain, will pause operations for five days beginning June 24 to incorporate the revised, reduced and validated beneficiary lists created by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) into food distributions. WFP expects the problem of substantial sales of food assistance will be greatly reduced with the new registration lists. -------------- GoP Actions -------------- ¶9. (U) Pakistan,s Information Minister, Qamar ul-Zaman Kaira, said that registered internally displaced persons would begin receiving a one-off cash grant of 25,000 rupees (USD 312) per family on Tuesday, June 9. While power, water and gas remain cut-off in Mingora, he said the utilities will be restored within the next two weeks, along with schools and hospitals. Special Support Group (SSG) Chairman Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed said that 1,300 soldiers were providing services to IDPs in the Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Charsada and Peshawar districts. -------------- Military Activity -------------- ¶10. (U) Reporting on June 4 on military operations in Swat focuses on the town of Charbagh, about 10 kilometers northeast of Mingora. The military's chief spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, said on June 3 that GoP forces had met stiff resistance in the town but had, nonetheless, successfully secured it and were consolidating their positions. Charbagh was a likely destination for some of the militants who fled Mingora. Abbas reported the discovery of a very large cache of explosives just north of Charbagh. Despite the claimed stiff resistance, reported casualties were very light, with only three militants and one government soldier killed. MG Abbas was in Mingora and told reporters that it could take another two months of fighting to rout the militants from their hideouts in Swat. ¶11. (U) Just to the west of Mingora, the military appears to be gearing up for a fight over the town of Kabal. Major General Ijaz Awan, a senior commander in the battle for Mingora, said that they have taliban commanders "bottled up" in Kabal. To the north, along the road that follows the Swat river, the military continued to consolidate its positions as far as Kalam, 70 kilometers north of Mingora. ¶12. (U) In the June 4 daily military press conference, the spokesman said that 1400 militants have been killed and 100 captured, militant radio broadcasts have been disrupted, and government forces are targetting the taliban leadership. Television news reports claimed that an operation in ISLAMABAD 00001225 003 OF 003 Chakdarra, a town in Lower Dir, is imminent. Also on June 4, 47 students and four instructors from the Razmak Cadet College who were kidnapped in North Waziristan on June 1 were reported to have been released. Eighty one others had been immediately rescued, but the fate of the remaining 51 was unknown until today. PATTERSON