IDP UPDATE: MINGORA ELECTRIFIED; UNHCR GAINS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001374 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PREF PHUM EAID PK SUBJECT: IDP UPDATE: MINGORA ELECTRIFIED; UNHCR GAINS PURCHASE FOR WAZIRISTAN DISPLACED REF: ISLAMABAD 1360 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On June 21, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) celebrated Pakistan's historic World Cup cricket victory: Pakistan's cricket captain dedicated the victory in London to the plight of the IDPs, and camp residents danced to and cheered the win which was televised. Services, including electricity and telephones, are now restored in Mingora, Swat and surrounding areas, prompting more IDPs to return to their homes. USAID and U.N. organizations are focusing on information dissemination to IDP camps and to those returning home. Significantly, the UNHCR has negotiated an agreement with the GOP to use a local NGO to register newly displaced people from Waziristan and also to distribute aid to them. End summary. -------------- Return of Services -------------- ¶2. (SBU) A 24-hour curfew has been imposed in Mingora, Swat and surrounding areas to facilitate security for essential reconstruction activities. Consulate Peshawar contacts confirmed Peshawar Electric Supply Company's (PESCO) claims that power has been fully restored to Mingora and adjacent villages. According to press, 80 PESCO officials are working in Mingora to maintain electricity and answer complaints. Pakistani press also reported that the water supply, gas supply, and telephone exchange were functional and repairs were ongoing in Mingora, Saidu Sharif, and surrounding villages. Buner does not yet have electricity or phone lines. The 24-hour curfew is in effect in Buner where military operations are ongoing in northwestern Buner bordering on Swat. Outside of Mingora, in areas of recent military operation such as Charbagh, Khuzabanda, and Barabanda, the curfew has been relaxed between 7 am and 7 pm. -------------- Access to Waziristan Displaced -------------- ¶3. (C) According to UNHCR's Assistant Representative in Islamabad, UNHCR now has permission, working through Pakistani nationals, to access D.I. Khan and Tank both for the distribution of humanitarian relief and for IDP registration. UNHCR will be working through FIDA, a local and reliable NGO youth initiative, which has embedded staff from the appropriate tribes and sub-tribes within the local administrations. FIDA will work as a subcontractor of the Social Welfare Department to register the displaced from Waziristan. Local authorities in D.I. Khan and Tank, the Ministry of Social Welfare, and Lt. General Nadeem are all on board for this arrangement which has long been in the planning and negotiation stages. According to UNHCR, the local authorities are aware that they can not do the registration without help. The intention of all parties is that this arrangement will remain "low profile" and not widely publicized. FIDA personnel have been shadowing Ministry of Social Welfare personnel to learn the IDP registration process. The USG has also funded FIDA to do a needs assessment of the displaced in D.I. Khan and Tank. UNHCR is also working on an agreement with FIDA to do direct distribution of non-food items in D.I. Khan and Tank, and the USG is also ready to provide non-food items through this channel. According to UNHCR, Lt. General Nadeem currently favors distribution of PKR 5000/month (62.5 USD) to displaced families in these areas in lieu of food distribution. -------------- Information Sharing -------------- ¶4. (U) Internews, an NGO that trains journalists and builds capacity of radio stations in Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP),has four stations broadcasting in NWFP to disseminate relevant humanitarian information to displaced populations. In addition, Internews is currently exploring the establishment of two stations in Dera Ismail Khan to reach ISLAMABAD 00001374 002 OF 002 potential displaced persons from North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies. ¶5. (SBU) On June 8, USAID/Pakistan initiated a project for the development of a media and public information coordination mechanism to improve messaging and information dissemination to displaced persons. The four-month grant to NWFP's Emergency Response Unit (ERU) supports the development and dissemination of reliable, timely, and consistent information for displaced individuals and returnees. Information will be broadcast through local and national media and sourced from U.N. agencies, particularly the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, international and local non-governmental organizations, and Pakistan government authorities at local, district, and national levels. USAID/Pakistan plans to work closely with the NWFP provincial government's ERU and the Special Support Group, a coordination body headed by Lt. General Nadeem Ahmed. -------------- Humanitarian Assessments -------------- ¶6. (U) On June 19, the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) deputy team leader accompanied staff from USAID/Pakistan Reconstruction office to Mansehra District, NWFP. According to the Mansehra District Coordination Officer (DCO),2,907 households, or of 16,802 individuals, were officially registered as of June 19, although registration remained ongoing. ¶7. (SBU) The DART deputy team leader noted that in four schools visited out of a total of 28 schools in Mansehra, each school was hosting between four and nine displaced households. In the four visited, USAID staff noted that basic needs appeared to have been met. Displaced families reported receiving non-food items and food aid from Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political party that has opposed the military operations. Displaced families also noted receiving assistance from disparate local sources, including a mosque, a hotel owner, and a nearby university. DART staff continue to note concern that no official tracking mechanism for community-provided assistance currently exists. ¶8. (U) Mansehra District officials reported distributing food and blankets, but displaced families interviewed by USAID staff indicated that the households had not received GOP assistance to date. Many of the displaced individuals interviewed expressed anger at the GOP and the Pakistani military because of property destruction and displacement, as well as a perceived lack of humanitarian support. DART staff are currently following up with NGO partners based in Mansehra regarding the lack of GOP and humanitarian agency assistance reported by displaced individuals. -------------- Health -------------- ¶9. (U) USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA),through the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO),continues to support the Disease Early Warning System (DEWS) for the management and detection of potential disease outbreaks. During the week of June 6, DEWS received alerts on nine acute watery diarrhea (AWD) cases, from the Larama displaced persons camps in Peshawar District, and the Mardan district hospital and Mardan medical complex. Five of the nine AWD cases reported were laboratory confirmed for cholera, and patients recovered with treatment. WHO noted that medical staff investigated all of the positive cases with active case finding procedures and instituted containment measures, including securing safe water and hygiene promotion. PATTERSON