MILITANTS KILL PESHAWAR MPA

C O N F I D E N T I A L PESHAWAR 000031 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/19/2019 TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK SUBJECT: MILITANTS KILL PESHAWAR MPA REF: A) Peshawar 0004, B) 08 Peshawar 0509, C) 08 Peshawar 0504, D) 08 Peshawar 0152 CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, Peshawar, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) In the first attack on a Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) in Peshawar, Alam Zeb Khan was killed on February 11 when militants detonated a remote-controlled improvised explosive devise (IED) as his car passed a market area. Khan's murder continues a trend of militant attacks on members of the ruling Awami National Party (ANP). This attack demonstrates the ability of the militants to use IEDs within the provincial capital of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and undermine public confidence in the government. End summary. Militants Kill Peshawar MPA -------------- ¶2. (C) In the first attack on a Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) in Peshawar, Alam Zeb Khan was killed on February 11 when militants detonated a remote-controlled IED as his car passed a market area. Alam Zeb Khan, 48, was one of only two members of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) Provincial Assembly representing a northeastern constituency in Peshawar District, and was a leader in the ANP. The 5 kg device exploded in Momin Town, Peshawar, near Khan's residence, destroying Khan's car and injuring six others. ¶3. (C) In addition to the violence directed against ANP members in Swat, previous notable attacks against ANP leaders in other areas include: a December suicide attack on an ANP elections camp in Buner which killed 33; a November suicide attack at a sports complex in Peshawar which failed to hit its target, NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour; an October failed suicide attack on ANP Central President Asfandyar Wali Khan in Charssada; and a February 2008 suicide attack which killed at least 30 at an ANP election rally attended by ANP provincial President Afrasiayab Khattak (Ref. A-D). ¶4. (C) Alam Zeb Khan, elected to the NWFP Assembly (Peshawar-1) in the February 2008 general elections, stood out as a likely militant target. He was a progressive and secular politician openly critical of militants. Khan was a populist leader, an advocate for the poor, and a champion of education, infrastructure and development. He led the way in establishing Bacha Khan Degree College for Girls and a street pavement project in his native Momin Town, Peshawar. Khan was a post contact and was highly respected by his constituents. Unlike other local politicians, Khan insisted on living among his constituents, traveling openly, often without security. He died after inspecting a street-pavement project in his district. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) MPA Alam Zeb Khan represented the kind of leader threatening to militants: popular, not intimidated by the militants or their demands, and progressive. Khan's murder continues the trend of militant attacks on leaders of the ruling ANP, a campaign that is taking a visible toll on ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan who has had little presence in the province since last year's attack on him. The pattern of targeted killings, intimidation, and departure of community leaders is one that we have already seen in the tribal areas with consequences for the government's ability to rally public support for its cause. A similar trend in the NWFP can only spell further trouble for maintaining the writ of the government on Pakistan's western border. However, ANP leader Asfundyar Wali Khan told Ambassdor February 19 that the attack would further lower popular support for the militants and prompt revenge efforts by the family. TRACY