Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ISLAMABAD996
2009-05-09 12:50:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:  

SITUATION IN SWAT AS OF MAY 9

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PINR PK PREL PTER 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0387
OO RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #0996/01 1291250
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 091250Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2650
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0239
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0288
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 4860
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 1593
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 7196
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 6136
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 9366
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 3919
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000996 

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PK PREL PTER
SUBJECT: SITUATION IN SWAT AS OF MAY 9

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

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000996

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PK PREL PTER
SUBJECT: SITUATION IN SWAT AS OF MAY 9

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


1. (SBU) Summary. Operations in Swat District continued on
May 9 with reports of over 140 militants killed during the
day. Press reports indicate that the Pakistan Air Force
started aerial assaults in the Swat city of Mingora on the
morning of May 9. By the evening, the UN High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR) placed the current population of the new
internally displaced persons at 150,000 from Dir, Buner, and
Swat districts. Once the curfew in Swat is lifted on the
evening of May 9, the number is expected to increase
significantly. IDPs began looting camp supplies at a UN IDP
camp in Mardan after 300 additional families arrived at the
already full camp. The Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance (OFDA) approved a grant for USD 4.9 million to the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) to purchase
30,000 non-food item (NFI) kits and 5,000 tents for the
expected IDP influx. Northwest Frontier Province Chief
Secretary has established an operational center within the
Provincial Relief Commissioners Office for IDP support and
has asked for USG assistance. In a speech on May 9, Prime
Minister Gilani announced that the Federal Cabinet
individually pledged 200 million rupees (approximately USD
2.5 million) for a fund to assist the growing numbers of IDPs
and plans to send various ministers to do an assessment of
the current IDP camps. The National Assembly is scheduled to
convene in a special session on the IDP situation on May 11.
End Summary.

MILITARY OPERATIONS
--------------


2. (S/NF) Operations in Swat District (Malakand Division,
NWFP) continued on May 9 with reports from the Pakistan
military Inter Services Public Relations office of over 140
militants killed within the past twenty-four hours.
According to press reports, the Pakistan Air Force started
aerial assaults on targets on the main Swat city of Mingora
on May 9. According to Special Operations Command (Forward)
- Pakistan (SOC-FWD),almost all the 11th Corps assets,
including combat aviation support, have been pulled from

Buner and other areas of conflict in the Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to conduct operations in
Swat.

IDP AND ASSISTANCE UPDATE
--------------


3. (SBU) As of the evening of May 9, recent population
displacements from Buner, Lower Dir, and Swat districts
number approximately 150,000 individuals. The international
assistance community now places the current number of
registered IDPs within the original 11 camps at approximately
540,000 displaced individuals. A curfew remains in place in
Swat, preventing many of the residents from leaving; however,
the NWFP government has said it plans to lift the curfew on
the evening of May 9. UNHCR told the Embassy that it expects
"the floodgates to open" once this curfew is lifted, if not
earlier. International relief organizations continue to
expect the overall number of IDPs to rise to approximately
1.3 million.


4. (SBU) On May 9, a riot took place at a UN-managed IDP camp
in Mardan District (south of Swat and Lower Dir) after 300
additional displaced families attempted to enter the camp,
which was already at the 1000-family maximum capacity.
According to Mardan District Commissioner Adil Khan, the UN
camp officials attempted to provide the additional families
with supplies when both the residents of the camp and those
attempting to enter overran the staff and began to loot the
supplies. Police and security forces were called to the camp
to restore order, and the additional families were ordered to
the next nearest IDP camp in neighboring Swabi District.
(Note: IDPs coming from Swat are also being diverted to
Jalozai where surge capacity is available, with space for
approximately 1000 additional IDPs. End note.)


5. (SBU) On May 8, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance (OFDA) approved a grant for USD 4.9 million to the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) to purchase
30,000 non-food item (NFI) kits and 5,000 tents for the

ISLAMABAD 00000996 002 OF 002


expected influx of IDPs. These items will be distributed in
cooperation with the UNHCR, and IOM was given a pre-approval
letter in order to start immediate procurement of relief
supplies.


6. (SBU) NWFP Chief Secretary Javed Iqbal has established an
operations center within the Provincial Relief Commissioner's
Office to assist with the growing IDP situation. In doing
so, Iqbal has asked the USG for computers, consultant
assistance and other administrative needs for the center.
The USAID-funded Capacity Building Program is working with
the Chief Secretary to respond to the request and plans to
have the operational center working in a few days.


7. (SBU) Iqbal also asked for USG assistance in providing
generators and transformers for the IDP camps the NWFP
government plans to establish over the next week. The
generators and transformers will maintain power to the pumps
to keep the camp supplied with water, particularly as
load-shedding is likely to increase over the summer months.
Although details about the camps or the number of expected
camps are unknown at this time, the USAID Office of
Transition Initiatives (OTI) is looking into the request and
plans to provide immediate assistance.

PRIME MINISTER PLEDGES IDP SUPPORT
--------------


8. (SBU) On May 9, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
announced at a press conference a series of decisions related
to the IDP and security situations in Malakand Division. The
conference followed a meeting of the Cabinet. Gilani told
the press he would be calling the National Assembly back into
session during the afternoon of May 11 to take up the current
situation. He also called on the political parties and civil
society to hold parades and demonstrations in cities around
the country to protest against terrorism while urging the
media to cover the developing situation responsibly. On IDP
relief, Gilani reiterated that he had responded to the
growing crisis immediately by releasing PKR 1 billion (USD
12.5 million) to the provincial government for relief
operations. He indicated that the Cabinet had further
approved using the Benazir Income Support Program for IDP
assistance and noted that Cabinet ministers had individually
donated PKR 200 million (approximately USD 2.5 million) and
one month salary for relief programs. Gilani also said that
he would dispatch ministers to the camps in NWFP to do an
assessment of conditions there.


9. (SBU) Separately, the Punjab government announced they
would be dispatching several truck convoys of food and
medicine for IDP camps in the Frontier. The Pakistan Muslim
League, for its part, announced that it has established a PKR
100,000 fund for Swat IDPs.

ARREST WARRANT FOR BAITULLAH MAHSUD
--------------


10. (SBU) Pakistani press is also reporting that the
government has issued an arrest warrant for Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) warlord Baitullah Mahsud. The warrant is in
connection with the attacks earlier this year on the Sri
Lankan cricket team and the Manawan police training academy,
both in Lahore. According to one press report, a TTP
commander threatened to retaliate for Army attacks in
Malakand by attacking civilian government leaders.
FEIERSTEIN