JUNE 15 SECURITY AND IDP REPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 001320

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2019
TAGS: PREF PREL PHUM EAID PTER PGOV PINR PK
SUBJECT: JUNE 15 SECURITY AND IDP REPORT

Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d).


1. (C) Summary: The announcement by the governor of the
Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) that the government would
begin an offensive into South Waziristan Agency dominated
headlines. In Malakand, military operations slowed as active
resistance dwindled to pockets in Swat, Buner, and Lower Dir,
and reconstruction and civil administration staffing work
continued fitfully. In Bajaur, however, a new military
operation appeared to be getting underway. Separately, the
UN decided on new, interim guidelines for travel of
expatriate staff to Peshawar, and the Office of the UN High
Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) sent a mission from Geneva
to help consider operational possibilities in the current
security context. UN global cluster leads will come to
Pakistan to assist in training and coordination for their
respective clusters. End Summary.

Political Update
--------------


2. (U) NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani announced on June 14
that the government had ordered a "full-fledged" military
operation against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief
Baitullah Mehsud and Mehsud tribes in South Waziristan Agency
(SWA). Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas refused to
confirm or deny Ghani's announcement. The only report of
actual military operations in South Waziristan was of a
bombing run against militant hideouts in Makeen and Spinkai
Raghzai Kot. NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain
said on June 13 that Swat TTP leader Maulana Fazlullah was
now hiding in SWA.


3. (SBU) Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz
Sharif criticized the militants in a June 14 speech in
Lahore, two days after the assassination of Barelvi leader
Dr. Allama Sarfraz Naeemi. Meanwhile, on the same day,
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hassan and Pakistan
Tehreek Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan continued their
criticism of the anti-militant campaign and called on the
Pakistani government to cease its support for U.S. foreign
policy objectives. The Awami National Party (ANP) also
continued its criticism of the ambiguous position taken by
the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam - Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F) on the
operation, with NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar
Hussain calling on the JUI-F to "quit the politics of double
standards."

Malakand Campaign Progress
--------------


4. (SBU) In Swat, pockets of resistance remained in several
areas, but fighting had died down over the weekend. The
government announced that electric power to Mingora had been
restored; according to Consulate Peshawar contacts, however,
the primary power station for the city was still being
repaired and electricity was still unavailable in most of the
city. Certain areas of the city and its surroundings,
drawing off the grid supplied by stations in Dir, do have
power. Telephone service is still out in most of the Swat
district, and roads leading into the city have been
periodically closed, blocking what we are told is a steady
trickle of IDP returns. Curfew has been relaxed throughout
most of Swat during the day, and most military operations are
taking place at night to minimize civilian casualties.


5. (SBU) In Buner, the Army claimed to have secured strategic
passes into Swat over the weekend. Essential services were
being supplied to most of the district except for the
northern areas around Pir Baba. According to Consulate
Peshawar contacts, however, civil administration was not yet
present outside of the cities, as rural officials for the
most part had not yet returned to their duties. In Lower
Dir, small pockets of resistance reportedly remained in the
Adenzai tehsil near Maidan, but most services were available
and most administration had returned; curfew had been lifted
entirely.


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6. (U) Elsewhere, news reports indicated the military was
moving against militants in Mohmand and Bajaur Agencies
(north of Peshawar). Twenty militants were reported killed
in Bajaur when Air Force fighters strafed suspected Taliban
hideouts.

UN Security Measures
--------------


7. (C) The UN's Security Management Team in Islamabad met
June 15 and determined that during the coming week, only
daily missions will be permitted to Peshawar. UN vehicles
will leave in convoy from Islamabad at 8:00 a.m. and will
depart from Peshawar for the return trip by 4:00 p.m. Only
one vehicle, and no more than three staff members, per agency
will be permitted in the convoy. On Thursday, the Security
Management Team will make a determination for the medium-term
on operational modalities. The UN still needs to assess its
vulnerabilities in Peshawar and to determine the extent to
which the staffing footprint there will be reduced.


8. (C) UNHCR Geneva has sent a "Solidarity Mission" to
Pakistan, comprised of Assistant High Commissioner Janet Lim,
UNHCR's Head of Security, its Head of Emergency Unit, and a
Staff Counselor, both to show solidarity with the staff and
to help reassess plans and modus operandi in light of
security developments. Among items under consideration is
working to a greater extent through national NGOs and the
attendant need to build both the security, as well as the
operational capacity, of these organizations and possibly to
provide security support so as not to merely transfer the
security risk to national partners. UNHCR Representative
Guebre-Christos also mentioned that HCR staff had a very
difficult time repatriating the remains of their fallen
Serbian colleague and were ultimately aided in this regard by
the Pakistan Air Force.

Humanitarian Coordination
--------------


9. (U) The director of the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has encouraged cluster leads to
take increased responsibility for coordinating their
respective clusters, and he has requested that global cluster
leads come to Pakistan to train and organize the effort
there. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) global cluster
lead was scheduled to arrive on June 13, followed by
additional global cluster leads.


10. (U) OCHA is holding weekly policy and strategy meetings
with Pakistani officials including Lieutenant General Nadeem
Ahmad, additional members of the Special Support Group, and
National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)
representatives.

Humanitarian Assessments
--------------


11. (U) OCHA confirmed that the Multi-Cluster Rapid
Assessment Mechanism (MCRAM) survey of displaced households
outside of formal camps has continued, despite increasing
insecurity in recent days. Trained staff remain in the field
conducting the assessment, which OCHA expects to be completed
by June 19.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
--------------

12. (U) USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
(USAID/OFDA) has approved nearly USD 1.3 million for an
international NGO for emergency humanitarian interventions,
including water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities.
The NGO's WASH programming concentrates on both prevention
and treatment to reduce the spread of waterborne diseases in
host communities in Nowshera, Peshawar, and Mardan districts
of the NWFP. This funding builds on USAID/OFDA-provided
assistance to the NGO for WASH interventions supporting the
old caseload of internally displaced people.


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PATTERSON