Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PESHAWAR50
2009-03-13 05:09:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Consulate Peshawar
Cable title:  

NWFP: ATTACK ON ANP SENIOR MINISTER

Tags:  PTER MOPS PGOV ASEC PK 
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FM AMCONSUL PESHAWAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7877
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 1429
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE 1063
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 0825
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RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI IMMEDIATE 1794
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUMICEA/USSOCOM INTEL OPS CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 4935
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 PESHAWAR 000050 

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/13/2019
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV ASEC PK
SUBJECT: NWFP: ATTACK ON ANP SENIOR MINISTER

CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, Peshawar,
Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d)
Summary
-------

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 PESHAWAR 000050

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/13/2019
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV ASEC PK
SUBJECT: NWFP: ATTACK ON ANP SENIOR MINISTER

CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, Peshawar,
Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d)
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Militants staged an attack in Peshawar on Northwest
Frontier Province (NWFP) Senior Minister Bashir Bilour of the
Awami National Party (ANP) on March 11 that left Bilour unharmed
but six others dead and five wounded. This latest attack on ANP
underscores the limits of the government's deal in Swat. While
Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) Swat may have halted the violence against
ANP in Swat, fellow militants in the frontier apparently do not
feel bound by that ceasefire. Despite this latest evidence of
the one-sided nature of the militants' bargaining with the
government, we doubt that this attack will deter the ANP from
continuing to pursue the Swat peace deal. (Note: Principal
Officer has requested a call on Bilour.) End Summary.

Attack on ANP Minister
--------------


2. (U) According to local police contacts, NWFP Senior Minister
Bilour (ANP) on March 11 was inspecting development projects in
his constituency in Peshawar's Old City (approximately 4 km
southeast of the Consulate). Bilour was on foot with a police
security detail in the popular, congested Namak Mandi bazaar.
At approximately 1630 (local),a young man in his late teens,
wearing a suicide jacket, emerged from a nearby street and began
running toward Bilour with his hands in the air, shouting "Allah
Akbar." (Note: While some reports described the attacker as
lobbing grenades, none appear to have gone off.)


3. (U) Police fired on the attacker, who was unsuccessful in
reportedly attempting to detonate his suicide vest. The
attacker was able to retreat in the ensuing panic by the crowd.
At some point, he was joined by a second young man, and the pair
forced their way into a house in the bazaar area. Police
tracked the two to the house, and a 40-minute firefight ensued.
The exchange ended when the attacker detonated the suicide
jacket. The assault left six dead, including the attackers and
occupants of the house, and five wounded. The death toll may
rise because of the severity of the injuries among wounded.


Violence Against NWFP-Based Politicians
--------------


4. (U) The attack on Bilour is the latest in a string of
militant attacks on ANP supporters and the second on Bilour who
was believed to be the target of a November 11 suicide attack at
a sports event in Peshawar. The highest volume of violence
against ANP has been in Swat where the party hold six of the
seven Provincial Assembly seats, but militants have demonstrated
an ability to repeatedly go after political targets in other
parts of the NWFP.


5. (U) In Peshawar, militants killed an ANP provincial
parliamentarian on February 11 with a roadside improvised
explosive device that hit his vehicle following a visit to a
constituency project. In Charsadda, home to some of the NWFP's
leading political families, militants have staged several high
profile attacks -- October 2008: a suicide attack against ANP
leader Asfandyar Wali Khan at his family compound killed two;
February 2008: an attack on an ANP rally with deputy leader
Afrasiab Khattak; December 2007: a suicide attack at mosque on
the family compound of former Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao
killed over 50; and April 2007: a suicide attack at a Sherpao
rally killed nearly 30 and lightly wounded Sherpao.

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


6. (C) Bilour and his brothers represent a prominent
Peshawar-based business family and are among ANP's oldest and
most important supporters, particularly on party financing.
Bashir is ANP's senior minister in the Provincial Assembly and
holds the Local Government portfolio. His brother Ghulam is a
Member of the National Assembly and Minister of Railways.


7. (S/NF) Bilour was not a primary player in the Swat peace deal

PESHAWAR 00000050 002 OF 002


discussions of February 2009 or May 2008, but he has spoken
regularly in public in favor of these and similar agreements.
This latest attack on ANP underscores the limits of the
government's deal in Swat. TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud has
reportedly placed a high premium on targeting ANP leaders and
was the likely author of some of the attacks on ANP figures in
the NWFP. While TTP Swat may have halted the violence against
ANP in Swat, fellow militants in the frontier apparently do not
feel bound by that ceasefire. Despite this latest evidence of
the one-sided nature of the militants' bargaining with the
government, we doubt that this attack will deter the ANP from
continuing to pursue the Swat peace deal.
TRACY