MALAKAND DIVISION: SWAT OPERATION UNDERWAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L PESHAWAR 000101


E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/14/2019
TAGS: MOPS PREF PTER EAID PK
SUBJECT: MALAKAND DIVISION: SWAT OPERATION UNDERWAY

CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate
Peshawar, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)



1. (C) Summary. From May 12-14, the Pakistani army continued
intensified operations in Swat. There appeared to be an
increase of forces on the ground, and a helicopter-borne
commando raid into the militant headquarters in central Swat's
Peochar valley dominated headlines. Militants in Swat continue
to issue threatening messages of retaliation via illegal FM
radios. Fighting continued in Lower Dir and Buner, as IDPs
continued to flow out of all of these conflict-ridden areas.
The NWFP government closed all schools in Mardan district so
that they could be used to house IDPs not accommodated by camps
and prepared to divert all of the planned development spending
in its 2009 budget to IDP relief. End summary.

IN SWAT, OPERATIONS FOCUS ON PEOCHAR VALLEY
--------------


2. (C) On May 12 and 13, artillery and air bombardment of
militant positions in Swat by the Pakistani military continued.
Pakistani commandos were inserted by helicopter into the village
of Peochar, in the Khwazakhela tehsil of central Swat, where
Tehrik-i-Taliban Swat (TTS) leader Maulana Fazlullah reportedly
has his headquarters. Unconfirmed reports from contacts on May
13-14 indicated that a top TTS leader, perhaps Fazlullah, had
been captured or killed. The Pakistani military announced that
it had secured the Chakdara road, between Mingora and Dir. The
Pakistani military also announced that it had killed 751
militants in Dir, Swat, and Buner, since the beginning of
operations there, against a loss of 29 soldiers.


3. (C) Consulate contacts in Swat reported that mobile phones
were jammed in Mingora on May 13-14 as ground forces entered the
city in large numbers. Press reported that militants were
leaving beheaded bodies in public places in the city. Contacts
from Swat reported that militants were still on the streets of
Mingora in most areas; they optimistically estimated that it
would take 2-3 more days for the Pakistani military to secure
the city.


4. (C) Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) for the FATA Secretariat
Habibullah Khan told Peshawar PO on May 14 that militants in
Swat were still able to broadcast via illegal FM radios. TTS
spokesman Muslim Khan, the ACS said, had been on the radio
earlier in the day threatening Swatis. TTS's message was, "we
beheaded you in the past, but now we will chop you up in wheat
threshers if you continue to cooperate with the government."
The military, the ACS said, was dropping the dead bodies of some
militants into their camps as a counter-tactic.

BUNER AND LOWER DIR
--------------


5. (SBU) The Pakistani military announced that it had killed 32
militants in areas of Lower Dir near the Swat border on May 13.
In Buner, Sultanwas still appears to be under militant control;
NWFP Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain told the press that Buner
would be cleared of militants "within two weeks."

IDPs
--------------


6. (SBU) IDPs continued to flow out of the conflict-ridden areas
of Swat, Lower Dir, and Shangla, though the military claimed
that some Buner residents were returning to secured areas of
that district to harvest the wheat crop. On May 13, National
Assembly Speaker and Acting President Fehmida Mirza visited
Sheikh Shahzad IDP camp in Mardan district. On May 14, the NWFP
government closed all schools in Mardan district on a temporary
basis so that the school buildings could be used to house IDPs
not accommodated in the existing camps. Ambassador met with Lt
General Nadeem, the Pakistani government's designated IDP point
man, to review GOP needs and U.S. assistance. (septel).


7. (C) NWFP Chief Economist Shakeel Qadir Khan told Consulate
that on May 14, NWFP Chief Minister Hoti had decided that the
NWFP government would freeze all development spending for 2009
and reallocate all of the money in that budget to the immediate
relief of the IDPs in the NWFP. He said this decision was based
on the immense need in the camps and the limited budget support
provided to date by the federal government. The federal
government, he said, had given the NWFP only 1 billion rupees
(USD 12.5 million) so far. The NWFP provincial government has a
development budget of 27.4 billion rupees (USD 342.5 million);
however, the freeze will affect development projects amounting
to almost 40 billion rupees (USD 500 million),as many of the
development projects in the NWFP are jointly funded by the NWFP
provincial government and the Pakistani federal government or
international donors. Shakeel Qadir Khan said that the NWFP
would likely announce this decision in 1-2 days.


8. (SBU) According to the Abbottabad assistant district
coordinating officer, a delegation of IDPs in Abbottabad
district met on May 12 with the district coordination officer
(DCO) to protest the lack of any camp facilities there. Most
IDPs have fled south, to Malakand, Mardan, and Swabi districts;
however, a growing number - particularly from Shangla - are
fleeing east, toward Islamabad. Abbottabad is approximately 25
miles from Islamabad. Press also reported 200 IDP families
living in public areas in the Haripur district, south of
Abbottabad, where there are also no camps.

TENSIONS IN CHITRAL
--------------


9. (SBU) Press reported that on May 11, residents of Chitral
blocked the primary road leading into Chitral from Upper Dir, in
order to prevent the entry of IDPs fleeing from the conflict in
Malakand. Officials negotiated a resolution to this blockade;
on May 12, residents of Upper Dir blocked the same road in order
to prevent local foodstuffs from being transported into Chitral
from Upper Dir (which would raise local prices).


10. (U) Addressing the National Assembly May 14, Prime
Minister Yousuf Gilani briefed parliamentarians on the
government's strategy in Swat, particularly efforts to assist
the displaced (IDPs). He announced he would convene an All
Parties' Conference on May 18. A "special support group" to
help IDPs had been formed; he promised all funds would be
utilized transparently, with details posted on a website. He
expressed confidence that "the whole nation will stand by our
brethren." Gilani also announced Information Minister Kaira
would brief the press daily on the situation. Embassy
Islamabad reports that the Army will brief political party
leaders next week on the military situation in Swat/Malakand.


TRACY