Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PESHAWAR38
2009-02-25 14:54:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Peshawar
Cable title:
NWFP: MULLAH FAZLULLAH'S UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE
how-toO 251454Z FEB 09 FM AMCONSUL PESHAWAR TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7852 INFO AMCONSUL PESHAWAR AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE AMCONSUL LAHORE IMMEDIATE AMCONSUL KARACHI IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE USMISSION USNATO IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE AMEMBASSY OTTAWA IMMEDIATE CIA WASHDC NSC WASHINGTON DC SECDEF WASHINGTON DC JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
C O N F I D E N T I A L PESHAWAR 000038
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/25/2019
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: NWFP: MULLAH FAZLULLAH'S UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE
CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate
Peshawar, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L PESHAWAR 000038
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/25/2019
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: NWFP: MULLAH FAZLULLAH'S UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE
CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate
Peshawar, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
Summary
--------------
1. (C) Tehrik-i Taliban (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah announced
a unilateral, indefinite ceasefire on February 24 with
conditions that Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) officials
tell us have not been accepted. Fazlullah's demands include
release of TTP supporters in custody, observance of strict
purdah (separate facilities for men and women),a prohibition on
activities by "loan/interest-based" non-governmental
organizations, no deployment of additional security forces, and
approval of judges by his father-in-law Tehrik-i Nifaz Shariat-i
Muhammadi (TNSM) leader Sufi Mohammad. There is much that
remains unclear about the contact between TTP and TNSM.
Notwithstanding Fazullah's "ceasefire," conditions in Swat
remain fragile, and the potential for a renewal of violence
remains high. End Summary.
Unilateral Ceasefire
--------------
2. (C) Awami National Party (ANP) deputy leader Afrasiab Khattak
told PO on February 25 that Fazlullah's unilateral, indefinite
ceasefire announcement had followed February 23-24 discussions
between the TTP leader and TNSM's Sufi Mohammad. (Note: The
existing unilateral ceasefire announced by TTP was due to expire
on February 25.) The ceasefire specifically included no attacks
on military forces or their supplies. Local press report,
however, that military supply convoys must receive clearance
from TTP.
4. (C) NWFP's Special Home Secretary (security) Jamal Nasir told
Consulate February 25 that Fazlullah had a number of demands,
including release of TTP supporters in custody, observance of
strict purdah (separate facilities for men and women),a
prohibition on activities by "loan/interest-based"
non-governmental organizations, no deployment of additional
security forces, and approval of judges by his father-in-law
Tehrik-i Nifaz Shariat-i Muhammadi (TNSM) leader Sufi Mohammad.
(Note: We read the restriction on NGOs to be aimed largely at
western entities while leaving Islamic "charities" free to
operate.) Khattak and Nasir separately emphasized that the
government had not accepted these conditions.
Government Re-Grouping
--------------
5. (C) Contact with Fazlullah via TNSM, both officials said,
would continue, but at the same time, the government would
proceed with taking action to strengthen the writ of the
government and provide humanitarian relief to internally
displaced persons (IDPs). According to a Consulate source,
Swat's senior administrative official has been instructed to
expedite the resolution of small claims using any available
legal regime, including the existing Nizam-I Adl (Shari'a)
regulation.
6. (U) Five hundred police have reportedly returned to Swat for
duty. Schools (boys and girls),markets, and offices in Mingora
and further south are reportedly open since February 23 without
incident. Public and private institutions north of Mingora
remain closed.
7. (C) Khattak discounted TTP's demand that Sufi Mohammad vet
Swat's future judges, saying that the TNSM leader had already
agreed to accept judges appointed by the Peshawar High Court.
According to one local observer, however, Sufi Mohammad has
publicly stated that Shari'a and "democracy" are opposing
systems and that he rejects democracy. The TNSM leader has also
indicated that if the Swat deal works out, he will take this
formula to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Comment
--------------
8. (C) There is much that remains unclear about the nature of
the contact between TTP and TNSM. Sufi Mohammad has a
reputation as a rigid iconoclast, and the government may yet
find him more difficult to predict or control than they
anticipate. There are also reports that non-Swati fighters in
the district are opposed to the ceasefire. As a result, concern
among Peshawar contacts about the fragility of the "peace" in
Swat remains high, and skepticism that it will last continues to
be a theme in local conversations.
TRACY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/25/2019
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: NWFP: MULLAH FAZLULLAH'S UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE
CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate
Peshawar, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
Summary
--------------
1. (C) Tehrik-i Taliban (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah announced
a unilateral, indefinite ceasefire on February 24 with
conditions that Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) officials
tell us have not been accepted. Fazlullah's demands include
release of TTP supporters in custody, observance of strict
purdah (separate facilities for men and women),a prohibition on
activities by "loan/interest-based" non-governmental
organizations, no deployment of additional security forces, and
approval of judges by his father-in-law Tehrik-i Nifaz Shariat-i
Muhammadi (TNSM) leader Sufi Mohammad. There is much that
remains unclear about the contact between TTP and TNSM.
Notwithstanding Fazullah's "ceasefire," conditions in Swat
remain fragile, and the potential for a renewal of violence
remains high. End Summary.
Unilateral Ceasefire
--------------
2. (C) Awami National Party (ANP) deputy leader Afrasiab Khattak
told PO on February 25 that Fazlullah's unilateral, indefinite
ceasefire announcement had followed February 23-24 discussions
between the TTP leader and TNSM's Sufi Mohammad. (Note: The
existing unilateral ceasefire announced by TTP was due to expire
on February 25.) The ceasefire specifically included no attacks
on military forces or their supplies. Local press report,
however, that military supply convoys must receive clearance
from TTP.
4. (C) NWFP's Special Home Secretary (security) Jamal Nasir told
Consulate February 25 that Fazlullah had a number of demands,
including release of TTP supporters in custody, observance of
strict purdah (separate facilities for men and women),a
prohibition on activities by "loan/interest-based"
non-governmental organizations, no deployment of additional
security forces, and approval of judges by his father-in-law
Tehrik-i Nifaz Shariat-i Muhammadi (TNSM) leader Sufi Mohammad.
(Note: We read the restriction on NGOs to be aimed largely at
western entities while leaving Islamic "charities" free to
operate.) Khattak and Nasir separately emphasized that the
government had not accepted these conditions.
Government Re-Grouping
--------------
5. (C) Contact with Fazlullah via TNSM, both officials said,
would continue, but at the same time, the government would
proceed with taking action to strengthen the writ of the
government and provide humanitarian relief to internally
displaced persons (IDPs). According to a Consulate source,
Swat's senior administrative official has been instructed to
expedite the resolution of small claims using any available
legal regime, including the existing Nizam-I Adl (Shari'a)
regulation.
6. (U) Five hundred police have reportedly returned to Swat for
duty. Schools (boys and girls),markets, and offices in Mingora
and further south are reportedly open since February 23 without
incident. Public and private institutions north of Mingora
remain closed.
7. (C) Khattak discounted TTP's demand that Sufi Mohammad vet
Swat's future judges, saying that the TNSM leader had already
agreed to accept judges appointed by the Peshawar High Court.
According to one local observer, however, Sufi Mohammad has
publicly stated that Shari'a and "democracy" are opposing
systems and that he rejects democracy. The TNSM leader has also
indicated that if the Swat deal works out, he will take this
formula to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Comment
--------------
8. (C) There is much that remains unclear about the nature of
the contact between TTP and TNSM. Sufi Mohammad has a
reputation as a rigid iconoclast, and the government may yet
find him more difficult to predict or control than they
anticipate. There are also reports that non-Swati fighters in
the district are opposed to the ceasefire. As a result, concern
among Peshawar contacts about the fragility of the "peace" in
Swat remains high, and skepticism that it will last continues to
be a theme in local conversations.
TRACY