Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KARACHI105
2009-03-30 05:56:00
SECRET
Consulate Karachi
Cable title:  

BALOCHISTAN - AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH INSPECTOR

Tags:  PGOV PTER PREL PK 
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INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0443
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0247
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0290
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1835
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 2688
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 4571
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RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KARACHI 000105 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PK
SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN - AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH INSPECTOR
GENERAL OF FRONTIER CORPS BALOCHISTAN

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY ACTING CONSUL GENERAL CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ
FOR REASONS 1.4 b and d.

Summary:
--------

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KARACHI 000105

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PK
SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN - AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH INSPECTOR
GENERAL OF FRONTIER CORPS BALOCHISTAN

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY ACTING CONSUL GENERAL CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ
FOR REASONS 1.4 b and d.

Summary:
--------------


1. (S) During a March 19 meeting with the Ambassador and
Rear Admiral Michael LeFever, Chief of the Office of the
Defense Representative in Pakistan (ODRP),Major General
Saleem Nawaz Khan, Inspector General of the Frontier Corps
Balochistan (IGFC-B) said he needed additional resources and
time to prepare his forces to protect USG supply shipments
through Balochistan. He gave the Ambassador a long list of
equipment and items that the Frontier Corps (FC) needed. He
called for greater Afghan efforts to secure the common border
and said the lack of more border access points had hindered
control efforts. Khan was enthusiastic about additional
assistance funding for the province and supported USG plans
to expand its presence in Quetta.

Border Protection Strain for Frontier Corps
--------------


2. (S) On March 19, the Ambassador and Rear Admiral Michael
LeFever, Chief of the Office of the Defense Representative in
Pakistan (ODRP),met with Major General Saleem Nawaz Khan,
Inspector General of the Frontier Corps Balochistan (IGFC-B),
at his headquarters in Quetta. During the meeting, Khan
noted that Balochistan is different from the Northwest
Frontier Province (NWFP) in that it is much larger and, thus,
more difficult to adequately patrol. The Frontier Corps (FC)
has a number of other responsibilities, such as drug
interdiction, in addition to its counter-terrorism and border
patrol duties. The FC is also tied up in the fight against
Baloch nationalists. All of this has placed a strain in FC
resources, he claimed.

FC Needs Resources to Protect Increased Supply Shipments
-------------- --------------


3. (S) Khan told the Ambassador that he was apprehensive
about the FC's ability to protect increased supply shipments
through Balochistan to Afghanistan. He noted that GOP forces
have adequately protected shipments using this route in the
past, claiming that there have been only 18 attacks on supply
convoys (and alleged that drivers and possibly local
officials were complicit in many of these). He claimed the

attackers had only targeted trucks from two particular
trucking companies, without naming the companies. However,
he said the FC lacks the funds to employ additional troops
and officers. Khan said the officer corps was only at 25
percent strength. He listed these staffing needs as among
his top priorities.


4. (S) After the Ambassador pointed out that she expected
increased troop strength and a corresponding need for
additional supplies to begin in April and expand rapidly by
August or September, Khan cautioned that the FC did not
currently have the resources to protect the supply lines. He
added that, even given enough funding, the FC did not have
enough time to upgrade its operational capability to provide
sufficient protection to them by August.


5. (S) Khan estimated that he could raise four additional
wings within 10 ) 12 months, but protecting the Hub to
Chaman route will take 7 to 8 wings, an additional 4,000
troops. If he had more funds, he said he could readily
supply troops from the market and conduct a "crash course" to
raise 12 wings in 18 months.

IGFC Balochistan Lists Resource Needs
--------------


6. (S) The FC only has one helicopter, in fair condition,
Khan stated, and has to borrow helicopters from the military
to conduct operations. He said the FC needs 8 ) 9
additional helicopters, enough to move one company quickly to
sites in the vast, often trackless, province. Khan also
listed 70 ) 80 bullet proof vehicles and more bullet proof
vests among the FC needs.

KARACHI 00000105 002 OF 003




7. (S) The FC also needs better surveillance and
communications equipment, night vision goggles, better
weapons, troop transporter and high-powered vehicles to catch
drug smugglers. Khan explained that, while the FC has a team
working with the Pakistani military's Inter Services
Intelligence Agency (ISI),the FC also needs a separate
intelligence operations center. He also suggested the USG
help fund a U.K. project to construct a FC training center.

Liaison to be Embedded with FC Floated
--------------


8. (S) Khan asked for advance warning of U.S. military
operations affecting Pakistan. However, he dismissed a
suggestion by Rear Admiral LeFever (ODRP) to place a USG
liaison in FC headquarters to coordinate operations, as
untenable due to security concerns. Khan was receptive to
Admiral LeFever's suggestion that the USG and FC in
Balochistan mirror Operation Lionheart.

IGFC Balochistan Calls for Afghan Cooperation
--------------


9. (S) Khan called for an equal Afghan effort to secure the
common border. The FC, he explained, has 273 fixed posts and
conducts 80 ) 100 patrols per night on the border with
Afghanistan. The Afghans, he asserted, only conducted 45
patrols per night on their side of the border. (Comment:
Post has no way of verifying these numbers. End comment.).
He said increased U.S. troop deployments in southern
Afghanistan will multiply the number of insurgents crossing
into Balochistan, necessitating a higher level of Afghan
cooperation to secure the border.

More Access Points Needed for Routine Travel
--------------


10. (S) Chaman is the only official crossing point on the
1200 kilometer border separating Balochistan and Afghanistan,
he pointed out. As a result, it is more convenient for
people located far from Chaman to cross illegally at closer
sites. This has contributed to the FC's difficulty in
controlling access to the province from Afghanistan. He
cautioned that if the GOP tries to block all unofficial
crossings, it will lead to civil unrest. To resolve this,
Khan proposed opening several new official crossing points.
He said tribal chiefs have told the Afghan government that
they need more crossing easements.

Biometrics Not Working
--------------


11. (S) While the GOP has attempted to operate a biometric
crossing system at Chaman, the Afghans have not reciprocated,
Khan claimed. According to him, Afghan security forces had
direct orders not to operate the system at the border
crossing and local Afghans at the border destroyed their
biometric equipment. Khan explained that if the GOP insisted
on using this system, the Afghans would shut the border
crossing, causing economic turmoil in the area.

Development Badly Needed
--------------


12. (S) Khan responded enthusiastically when the Ambassador
informed him that the USG was interested in providing more
development assistance to the province. He replied that
Balochistan needed much development assistance due to neglect
by the GOP and provincial leaders. According to him, most
provincial governors have been tribal chieftains, and their
traditional viewpoint and lack of a system of governance has
hindered progress. Khan claimed GOP appointed governors from
outside the province have been the force behind what
development the area has seen.

Development Funding Increases, But Results Lagging
-------------- --------------


13. (S) The federal government appears to have devoted more

KARACHI 00000105 003 OF 003


funding for development in recent years. The total aggregate
federal development budget for Balochistan from 1971 to 2000,
he said, was around $2.3 billion. From 2000 to 2008, the
aggregate total rose to almost $4.5 billion. Still, he said,
underserved areas begin one kilometer from the main road.
Because of that, he felt that citizens had good reason to be
upset at the lack of tangible development. He added that any
effort focused on development would be "music to our ears."

Expanded U.S. Presence Would Need Tight Security
--------------


14. (S) Khan was supportive of a USG proposal for an
expended presence in Quetta, but cautioned that security
would be a concern in the city. As a result, he said that
the USG should choose the location carefully and advised
against trying to situate any new facility outside of the
city, where he said it was not "safe." Khan did not believe
that the city's cantonment area would have sufficient room
for any USG facility.

Comment
--------------


15. (S) Khan was clearly attempting to leverage the meeting
with the Ambassador to gain additional funds for the FC. His
list of needed items seemed to go beyond those required to
raise additional forces to protect supply shipments.
However, he appeared genuinely concerned about FC ability to
raise its capacity in time to fully protect USG supply
shipments across Balochistan by August.
RODRIGUEZ