GOP BRIEFS A NEW STRATCOM PLAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000941

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID PK
SUBJECT: GOP BRIEFS A NEW STRATCOM PLAN

Classified By: CDA Gerald M. Feierstein, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. In an April 31 meeting with A/DCM and PAO,
new Minister of Information and Broadcasting Kaira described
the GOP,s planned national public affairs campaign to build
public support for the fight against extremism. The plan
includes hiring local public relations firms to create ads
for print and electronic media, public relations training for
officials, content development for radio and TV, special
events planning with civil society partners and nationwide
polling. We expect President Zardari will brief this plan to
the President next week. While encouraged that the GOP
finally is thinking along these lines, its capacity to
implement and fund it over the long term is yet to be seen.
Kaira expressed willingness to work with the USG on the
engagement of a consultant to assist in all phases of
developing, coordinating and executing a strategic
communications plan. In addition, he expressed interest in
USG assistance in content development, training, and purchase
of infrastructure. This conversation marks a new opening
with the GOP in terms of strategic communications planning.
Post is following for specifics on how we can coordinate
assistance. End summary.


2. (C) A/DCM and PAO met April 30 with the new Minister of
Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira; the
Secretary of the Ministry, Ashfaq Ahmad Gondal; and the
Ministry's Strategic Communications Specialist, Ammara
Durrani. Talking just days after the recent Pakistani
military's offensive against insurgent Taliban in Buner, the
Minister was keen to discuss the GOP,s planned, but
yet-to-begin, public affairs campaign. Under wraps for now,
but reportedly months in the making, the campaign is
purportedly set to launch in the coming weeks and is designed
to nurture and strengthen public opinion against the
extremist elements. The Minister said they wish to capture
the public ire over recent actions by extremist groups and
turn that into an understanding that is the public's war to
fight. The campaign will consist of five parts: 1) paid
print and electronic advertising; 2) training for public
spokesmen, parliamentarians, GOP officials and pundits; 3)
content development for radio and television programming; 4)
special events planning to develop grassroots understanding
by reaching out to students, unions, government employees,
NGOs and other natural constituents; and 5) nationwide
polling.


3. (C) Although unclear on the amount or sources of funding
for this campaign, the Minister was clear that they were not
going to &wait for the funding;8 rather, they would move
ahead as soon as possible, contracting with public relations
firms and others to carry out their message. We were pleased
to hear that they plan on including polling as a measure of
effectiveness, and to help understand the importance of
knowing where they stand to help them get where they want to
go. The PAO is holding subsequent meetings with the
strategic communications specialist to learn more about the
program and to begin coordinating the most effective
assistance we can provide to the GOP. Further communications
will outline the depth of their campaign, its themes,
messaging and budget. One of our biggest questions is how
the GOP will implement the campaign. Lacking depth in the
communications fields, in the past the GOP has contracted out
these efforts, spreading the messaging to several competing
public relations firms, a practice ) according to some local
public relations professionals - that has led to a certain
level of incoherence, and ineffective campaigns.


4. (C) Apparent during the conversation was a lack of
coordination with the military that had just begun their new
campaign against the extremists in Buner. At the beginning
of the meeting, the PAO pointed out that the Inter-Services
Public Relations office (ISPR - the Pakistani military public
affairs branch) was to hold their second press conference of
the new campaign that afternoon. The Minister noted it,
saying that they would be discussing operational aspects.
PAO responded that with this type of kinetic action, it was
important for the Government to be up front in discussing why
it is carrying out these actions, how it was helping the
people and what it was going to do for the people to help
them recover after the fighting ended. None of that had been
done to date. The Minister agreed, but it was clear that
level of communication had not been considered and was likely

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not part of the new campaign they are planning.


5. (C) When asked, the Minister admitted that the campaign
had been developed in-house and that it is going to be
carried out by a cell of his own staff. He admitted that
they had not considered bringing in a consultant, but when
asked directly if they would consider one, he agreed that
there was a place for assistance and that a consultant could
provide strategic communications planning and assist in the
implementation of their messaging, as well as assist in
coordination messages throughout the government.


6. (C) When advised that we were considering reprogramming
funding to help them with their strategic communications,
they also discussed the need for: assistance with content
development for radio and television; training for their
staff, parliamentarians, and government spokesmen; and
assistance in the purchase of infrastructure (radio
transmitters, e.g.) to help them disseminate their message to
the public.


7. (C) The conversation jibes with two other encounters
mission staff have recently had. The first was the Office of
Transition Implementation (OTI) officer working with the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat media
cell who was approached by the Pakistani Military
Inter-Services Public Relations office (ISPR) seeking
$700,000-800,000 to develop radio content to be aired into
the FATA and Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). The second
was a conversation the Information Officer had with the
director of Pakistani Public Radio, who lamented the
condition of their Soviet-era transmitters and the fact that
the extremists are taking down their towers in the FATA. The
director said that with one million dollars, they could
purchase a one gigawatt transmitter that would enable them to
send a strong signal into the FATA and NWFP that could not be
taken down by the extremists.


8. (C) We have seen over the last several weeks that the
will to take on extremist messaging exists within the GOP and
its military. However, it is obvious that their efforts need
guidance from professionals experienced in this level of
strategic communications, training to develop and then carry
out these efforts on their own, and resources to acquire the
infrastructure to implement their campaigns. In the past,
GOP officials have been reticent to share this much
information with us, or to directly look to us for
assistance. We believe that now is the time to engage them
more directly and to work with them to begin coordinating our
efforts. To do that, we will need a substantial increase in
funding, a willingness to work with the Pakistanis in unique
ways, and understanding that, unlike Afghanistan and Iraq,
here we do not &own8 the airwaves or media and will need to
work with the GOP as an integral partner each step of the
way.
FEIERSTEIN