EMBASSY ISLAMABAD P1 REFERRAL: FAMILY OF JOHN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 002839

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PK
SUBJECT: EMBASSY ISLAMABAD P1 REFERRAL: FAMILY OF JOHN
SOLECKI'S DRIVER/INTERPRETER


1. (SBU) Summary: Embassy Islamabad hereby refers for P1
U.S. resettlement consideration/in-country processing the
family of Syed Hashim, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) staff member killed by a Baloch nationalist group on
February 2, 2009 at the time of the kidnapping of U.S.
citizen John Solecki, then head of UNHCR's Sub-Office in
Quetta, Pakistan. Mr. Hashim's family members face a
combination of risks due to their UN affiliation, Hazara
ethnicity, U.S. association through Solecki, vulnerable
status as a female-headed household and family survivors of a
terrorist attack, and rumored compensation package which
makes them an attractive target for abduction. An individual
who previously sought to extort funds for information on Mr.
Solecki's place of detention has also approached Mr. Hashim's
family seeking to determine their financial status. As Mr.
Hashim,s family is still located in Pakistan, UNHCR
Islamabad cannot refer them to USRAP and has requested the
U.S. to consider them for an Embassy referral and in-country
processing. UNHCR has outlined the risks and well-founded
fears they face. In a Pakistani environment of heightened
insecurity and targeted attacks on UN staff, it is in the
U.S. interest to support a key UN humanitarian assistance
partner in its efforts to support and protect the family of a
fallen colleague. Mr. Hashim's legal permanent resident
brother (in the U.S. since 2000) has indicated an interest in
supporting the family's integration into the U.S. END
SUMMARY

--------------
BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
--------------


2. (SBU) Embassy Islamabad refers for P1 U.S. resettlement
consideration/in-country processing the following five (5)
family members of Syed Hashim (deceased):

Name: KHAUNUM, Zahara
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Self
DPOB: December 17, 1959, Quetta, Pakistan
Gender: Female
Nationality: Pakistani
Passport: C575039 (expired)
Current Address/Location: House No. 7-47/6A, Syed Abad,
Alamdar Road, Quetta, Pakistan
Phone: 92-81-2668825

Name: KAZMI, Nadi
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Daughter
DPOB: March 25, 1983, Quetta, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistani
Passport: photo and personal data on mother's expired passport
Current Address/Location: same as above

Name: KAZMI, Syed Mujtaba
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Son
DPOB: September 1, 1988, Quetta, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistani
Passport: photo and personal data on mother's expired passport
Current Address/Location: same as above

Name: SHAH, Syed Tayyab Shah
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Son
DPOB February 15, 1991, Quetta, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistani
Passport: listed with photo on mother's expired passport
although birth date is incorrect
(Birth certificate is also available.)
Current
Address/Location: same as above

Name: KAZMI, Sadia
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Daughter
DPOB January 18, 1994, Quetta, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistani
Passport: listed with photo on mother's expired passport
although birth date is incorrect
(Birth certificate is also available.)
Current Address/Location: same as above

-------------- --
REASON FOR REFERRAL/U.S. INTEREST
-------------- --


3. (SBU) In a Pakistani environment of heightened insecurity
and targeted attacks on UN staff, the role of UN local
employees becomes all the more important and the risks they
face all the greater. In this volatile and policy critical
part of the world, UNHCR plays an essential role in providing
assistance to 1.7 million Afghan refugees and a

ISLAMABAD 00002839 002 OF 003


conflict-displaced local population which peaked at 2.8
million. It is in the U.S. interest, and is the right and
humanitarian thing to do, to support this key UN humanitarian
assistance partner in its efforts to support and protect the
family of a fallen colleague. Mr. Hashim was also killed
while supporting a U.S. citizen.

--------------
PERSECUTION CLAIM
--------------


4. (SBU) Syed Hashim's family members have reason to fear
harm due to a combination of factors including their
association with both UNHCR and the U.S. A Baloch
nationalist group claimed responsibility for the February 2,
2009 kidnapping of U.S. citizen and UNHCR Sub-Office Head
John Solecki and for the killing Mr. Hashim, his driver and
interpreter. According to UNHCR, the kidnapping and killing
were part of the Baloch group's effort to raise the profile
of human rights abuses in Balochistan and to protest the
U.N.'s perceived silence with respect to the government's
military action, long-standing civilian displacement, and
human rights abuse in Balochistan. Subsequent to Mr.
Solecki's release some months later, Baloch militants have
declared the UN to be a "legitimate" target and cited the
lack of UN humanitarian response in Balochistan compared to
robust cooperation with the government in providing
humanitarian assistance in the Northwest Frontier Province
(NWFP). The UN has since had limited to no operations in
Balochistan for security reasons.


5. (SBU) This ethnically Hazara family also has reason to
fear the targeting of Hazaras by Baloch nationalists. As law
enforcement responsibilities have passed from police to
paramilitary forces in Balochistan, there has been an
increase in reported arbitrary arrests and disappearances of
Baloch students and activists. These events have been met
with a series of targeted killings of non-Baloch,
particularly Hazaras. Designated as "settlers", Hazaras,
like Mr. Hashim's family, are seen by Baloch separatists as
taking Baloch jobs and resources and being part of a larger
State plan to change the ethnic demography, and the balance
of power, in Balochistan.


6. (SBU) In addition to Baloch nationalists, Pakistani
Taliban also have targeted UN agencies. This targeting is
reflected in the bombing of the UN World Food Program (WFP)
in Islamabad, and the prior killing of a senior UNHCR local
staff member in Kacha Gari IDP camp near Peshawar. Both
Baloch nationalists and the Pakistani Taliban have sought to
disable UN humanitarian assistance which bolsters the efforts
of the Government of Pakistan to support the Pakistani
population. Pakistani national staff are essential to UN
operations in general, and UNHCR's operations in specific,
particularly in light of the increasingly dangerous security
situation for, and heightened security restrictions on,
international staff. Nothing would have a more chilling
effect on the essential participation of Pakistani national
staff than the targeting of the family members of an already
victimized colleague. The numerous bombings over the last
few weeks of military, police and intelligence facilities in
rural and urban areas in several provinces are evidence of
the lack of effective State protection available. UNHCR also
argues that the perceived U.S. pressure, widely covered in
the media, for the Pakistani military to confront the taliban
in South Waziristan also puts those affiliated with the U.S.
at risk.


7. (SBU) In addition, Mr. Hashim's family members have
security concerns based on the local community's belief that
the family received significant sums in compensation and life
insurance from the UN. This belief makes family members a
prime target for abduction. Such concerns were exacerbated
in March when the family was approached by an individual
purporting to be a friend of the deceased and trying to
determine the family's financial status. An investigation by
the UN Department of Safety and Security and the relevant
Pakistani intelligence agency determined that this individual
had also attempted to extort money from the UN in exchange
for information related to Mr. Solecki's detention. UNHCR
considered internal relocation options for Mr. Hashim's
family, as the family has extended relatives in Karachi, but
it was determined that joining the Hazara community there
would present the same danger as in Quetta.

--------------
NEED FOR RESETTLEMENT
--------------


ISLAMABAD 00002839 003 OF 003



8. (SBU) Mr. Hashim,s family lacks a durable solution to
their current situation. For the reasons stated above, they
fear and risk serious harm, based on their UN affiliation,
Hazara ethnicity, U.S. association, and perceived new wealth,
if they remain in Pakistan.


--------------
RECOMMENDATION
--------------


9. (SBU) Based on the aforementioned grounds, UNHCR has
requested that the U.S. facilitate resettlement to the U.S.
of Mr. Hashim's family, and post recommends in-country
consideration for P1 refugee resettlement.


10. (SBU) There is no neighboring country (Afghanistan,
India, Iran, or China) which would afford safety and security
as a country of first asylum for this female-headed
household. Remaining at home pending processing would provide
some socio-economic stability for a family already
traumatized by the loss of their husband/father.


10. (SBU) Mr. Hashim's brother Syed Haider Shah Kazmi, who
has resided in California since 2000 and is currently a legal
permanent resident, has indicated a wish to support Mr.
Hashim's family's integration into the U.S.

--------------
EMBASSY CONTACT INFORMATION
--------------


11. (SBU) For additional information, please contact
Islamabad Refugee Coordinator, Liane Dorsey (92-51-208-2689;
DorseyLR@state.gov)

PATTERSON