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RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 0313
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ISLAMABAD 003027 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PK PREL PHUM PREF
SUBJECT: PRM VISIT TO PAKISTAN: JULY 14-24 
 
REF: PESHAWAR 428 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: This is a report from PRM/ECA Deputy 
Director Nancy Iris and Program Officer Amy Wendt's visit to 
Pakistan July 14-24.  The GOP is looking to the international 
community for a renewed commitment to assist with the impact 
Afghan refugees have had on Pakistan's environment, 
infrastructure, economy, and security.  GOP officials with 
direct responsibility for refugee programs remain 
surprisingly pragmatic given the numbers involved (over 2 
million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan), a worsening 
security situation, and chaotic internal politics.  This is a 
critical period for refugee policy as a new strategy for the 
management of Afghans in Pakistan is needed to replace a 
previous three-year plan which ends in 2009.  The Refugee 
Affected Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative, first announced in 
Brussels in 2005, has yet to be implemented, but is much 
needed.  Internationally-funded international organization 
(IO) and non-governmental organization (NGO) services are 
often the only ones available to reach the refugee 
population; this situation is unsustainable and more capacity 
building for the GOP to enable it to provide health and 
education services to its own populations as well as to 
Afghans within its borders is critical.  End summary. 
 
GOP Meetings 
- - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (SBU) Iris and Wendt met with Mr. Rauf Abdur Khan, Chief 
Commissioner, Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR) and 
Dr. Imran Zeb Khan, Commissioner, in what turned out to be 
the Chief Commissioner's last day in his position.  Kahn was 
reassuringly forward-looking in his rhetoric concerning the 
current but outdated official three-year strategy that the 
GOP has in place for managing Afghan refugees.  His view is 
that a revised strategy is obviously necessary and should be 
one that looks at the medium term of four to five years. 
(Comment: There seems to be an acknowledgment by GOP 
officials working with refugees that a horizon tied to the 
five-year Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) would 
be more pragmatic.  Khan has come a long way in his thinking 
during his 15 months in office, starting as rigidly 
anti-Afghan and ending with a much more realistic and 
sympathetic outlook.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Khan commented he did not mind if not all the 
refugees returned to Afghanistan, but reiterated the vast 
majority of them should go back some day.  He is willing to 
see several hundred thousand widows and vulnerable Afghans 
stay, but he wants the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to 
set up some arrangement with target numbers, a schedule, and 
a framework for repatriations over the coming years.  He 
noted that if this is not possible, then it might ultimately 
come to a unilateral decision one day when the GOP would 
insist that the Afghans simply go home. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Chief Commissioner Kahn pointed out that the GOP 
bears a lot of hidden costs for Afghans.  This sentiment was 
reiterated in a meeting with Mr. Waqar Ayub, Provincial 
Commissioner for Afghan Refugees (NWFP).  He is a member of 
the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) provincial civil 
administration and is responsible for the implementation of 
federal policy at the provincial level.  He came to office on 
March 1 (the day the repatriation season opened), and his 
first and immediate task was to close the Jalozai camp.  He 
also acknowledged the current plan for all Afghan refugees to 
return home by 2009 is flawed and unrealistic.  He thinks the 
GOP should look at allowing more time for repatriations and 
must fine tune its policy.  The repercussions of refoulement 
would be the loss of goodwill with the international 
community and with UNHCR upon whom it depends for 
humanitarian assistance for refugees. 
 
¶5. (U) The Provincial Commissioner spoke knowledgeably, at 
some length, about definitions of a refugee and refugee law 
and practice as well as the serious impact the Afghan 
refugees had had on Pakistan's social services, environment, 
food costs, and infrastructure.  An example of environmental 
degradation in Balochistan due to the refugee influx was also 
described in detail by a PRM NGO partner during the trip. 
Ayub opined that Pakistan itself was the biggest donor of 
refugee assistance in the region, with little recognition of 
its role from the international community; it had generously 
 
ISLAMABAD 00003027  002 OF 004 
 
 
provided refuge to its brothers for almost 30 years dating 
back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Ambassador Rustam Shah, former Chief Commissioner 
for Afghan Refugees and former Pakistani Ambassador to 
Afghanistan, has recently been hired by UNHCR to consult on 
Afghan refugee issues.  He sees himself as an ambassador to 
Pakistan in Afghanistan and as an ambassador to Afghanistan 
in Pakistan.  While he acknowledged some adverse affects 
Afghans have had on the environment and infrastructure, he 
believes that this is balanced by significant positive 
contributions as Afghans dominate the construction and labor 
industries, constitute a high number of agricultural workers 
and carpet weavers, run restaurants and other businesses, and 
account for significant remittances coming into the country. 
Looking ahead, Shah stressed the need for creating conducive 
conditions in Afghanistan as a pull factor for sustainable 
returns.  He believes the international community's 
willingness to support the Refugee Affected Hosting Areas 
(RAHA) initiative is vital.  The Pakistani beneficiary host 
communities need to know the RAHA projects are a thank you to 
them for hosting the refugees and there should be ample 
publicity to include local authorities. 
 
Refugee Affected Hosting Areas (RAHAs) 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7. (U) The RAHA initiative aims to promote peaceful 
co-existence by rehabilitating refugees-hosting areas and 
upgrading facilities to benefit both the Afghan and Pakistani 
communities.  It is a joint project of the GOP (SAFRON/CCAR) 
and UNDP/UNHCR supported by the UN country team.  UNHCR 
conducted a first phase needs assessment in 2007 and UNDP 
published the findings of a second phase needs assessment in 
April 2008.  At the time of the PRM trip, a UN country team, 
under the UN's Delivering As One initiative was in the field 
developing an implementation plan for RAHA.  The PRM team met 
separately with recently arrived UNDP Resident Coordinator of 
One UN, Fikret Akcura; and Guenet Guebre-Christos, UNHCR 
Representative, Guenet Guebre-Christos, who has been in 
Pakistan four years.  (Comment: The RAHA is an important 
experimental model to support and watch.  Three million 
Afghans comprise what is known as the largest protracted 
refugee situation in the world.  Some U.S. funding targets 
refugees; some targets host country nationals.  A creative 
and flexible funding approach by the U.S. and other donors 
will be needed to combine support to meet the needs of all 
populations and to help RAHA succeed.) 
 
¶8. (U) Until the RAHA initiative is fully tested and made 
operational, support for refugees will continue to be needed 
in the NWFP and Balochistan Provinces.  In addition to the 
nationwide support conducted by UNHCR, a number of 
non-governmental organizations provide services to the 
long-standing refugee population in Pakistan.   While some 
have already begun transitioning work on education and health 
services in NWFP to GOP entities, which should help fold into 
the overall RAHA strategy, others have only begun to plan for 
the transition.  In particular, PRM NGO partners in 
Balochistan noted that very few refugees are returning to 
Afghanistan from camps and settlements in this province due 
to the continued insecurity in their areas of origin (e.g., 
Helmand and Kandahar provinces).  As many of these refugees 
live in isolated areas far from local hosts, it is unlikely 
that they will be reached in the first waves of RAHA 
initiative projects, requiring continued direct support from 
UNHCR, NGOs, and the international community for the 
foreseeable future while UNHCR and the GOP discuss the 
longer-term protection strategy. 
 
UNHCR 
- - - 
 
¶9. (U) UNHCR has advocated successfully with the GOP for the 
protection of refugees, and the Ministry of SAFRON is 
preparing a new strategy for the management of Afghans in 
Pakistan to replace the previous three-year plan aiming at 
the repatriation of all remaining Afghans by the end of 2009. 
 This previous plan has been recognized by stakeholders as 
unrealistic given the regional security situation and 
Afghanistan's lack of capacity to receive returning refugees 
and to provide a durable solution for them.  However, UNHCR 
believes public and political opinion will turn against the 
 
ISLAMABAD 00003027  003 OF 004 
 
 
refugees if enhanced and visible support for the RAHA is not 
forthcoming.  They would like to see the GOP announce the end 
of the current three-year plan and elaboration of the new 
strategy which will include RAHA and be keyed to a timeframe 
tied to the five-year Afghan National Development Strategy 
(ANDS).  One of UNHCR's key policy objectives is to secure an 
understanding that a comprehensive resolution of Afghan 
displacement is contingent on progress in the reconstruction 
and state-building process -- an improvement in the security 
situation and a conducive regional environment -- and that 
solutions for many registered Afghans will lie in Pakistan 
and Iran in the meantime. 
 
¶10. (U) The PRM monitoring team visited a UNHCR Center in 
Peshawar where they saw the biometrics registration system 
UNHCR has implemented for Afghan refugees.  UNHCR argues that 
registered Afghans are of great importance to regional 
stability and security.  They do not believe security 
concerns can be addressed through unplanned camp closures 
which disperses previously stable populations.  They would 
like to see the international community give more credit and 
support to the GOP for its support to refugees.  UNHCR is 
taking a comprehensive look at all refugees remaining in 
Pakistan.  They believe all three durable solutions -- 
return/reintegration, local integration, and resettlement -- 
are needed.  Meanwhile, the refugees need predictability of 
stay. 
 
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶11. (U) Pakistan is seeing more of its own citizens become 
displaced by violence.  The movement of these nationals to 
urban areas and subsequent demand driven rent increases 
combined with rising food prices everywhere and a poor 
economy is forcing out long-term refugees.  The GOP only very 
recently has asked the international community through UNHCR, 
ICRC and UNDP for assistance; previously they had been 
reluctant to accept such help. 
 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶12. (SBU) ICRC has expressed concern that it is still limited 
in its ability to travel to the most conflict-affected parts 
of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and 
Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) to provide support to 
those internally displaced by violence.  ICRC does help some 
weapon-wounded victims who are able to reach more accessible 
areas, such as Peshawar.  ICRC works through private 
physicians and pays for medical care costs when these cases 
present themselves and also provides support to the Pakistan 
Red Crescent Society.  ICRC Head of Delegation Pascal Cuttat 
said the GOP understands ICRC's role on these types of cases, 
does not impede their operations, and has signaled that ICRC 
would be authorized to provide additional humanitarian 
assistance if insecurity were to worsen.  Like many of those 
trying to respond, however, ICRC still lacks enough 
information to quantify the number of IDPs and appropriate 
level of response needed by humanitarian actors.  Of most 
concern to ICRC was the further breakdown of law and order in 
FATA and  NWFP.  Cuttat commented that criminal gangs were 
taking advantage of the growing insecurity in these areas and 
creating the greatest impediment to humanitarian actors 
meeting the needs of the presumed IDP population.  In 
addition to further support in FATA and NWFP, ICRC hopes to 
expand its programs to Balochistan to support rural 
pastoralist communities also affected by conflict not 
necessarily related to that in FATA and NWFP. 
 
NGO Partners 
- - - - - - - 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Interaction with NGO partners at program sites and 
at various meetings in Islamabad confirmed the impact a 
worsening security situation is having on humanitarian space. 
 The PRM monitoring team emphasized the need for capacity 
building with the GOP and long-range planning for the 
eventual elimination of parallel systems, particularly in the 
health and education sectors.  Highlights of the trip 
included site-visits in Peshawar to an Afghan community 
school being assisted by the International Rescue Committee 
and a birthing center where several mothers, both Afghan and 
 
ISLAMABAD 00003027  004 OF 004 
 
 
Pakistani, had just given birth. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Comment: The next few months are a critical time 
for the refugee program in Pakistan.  A ministerial level 
meeting on returns and refugees in the region (Afghanistan, 
Pakistan, Iran) is scheduled for November 19 in Kabul.  UNHCR 
is taking the lead.  A finalization of Pakistan's revised 
Afghan refugee strategy would be a timely and important 
contribution to the November meeting.  This would provide one 
element of the predictability of stay UNHCR is emphasizing in 
the region.  The RAHA initiative potentially could be a model 
for refugee programs worldwide; early support by both the 
refugee and development fields will be important.  More 
recently, UNHCR High Commissioner Antonio Guterres completed 
August 26-28 a three-day visit to Pakistan during which the 
GOP agreed to review its Afghan repatriation strategy beyond 
¶2009.  Both Guterres and the GOP reiterated their commitment 
to the voluntary and gradual spirit of repatriation.  End 
comment. 
 
PATTERSON