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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PESHAWAR 000472 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  9/27/2018 
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: OPERATION LAUNCHED TO OPEN KOHAT TUNNEL 
 
REF: A) PESHAWAR 468, B) PESHAWAR 449, C) PESHAWAR 84 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Michael A. Via, Acting Principal Officer, U.S. 
Consulate Peshawar, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b), (d) 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) The Inspector General of the Frontier Corps (IGFC) 
reported that security forces launched an operation in the areas 
surrounding Darra Adam Khel in Frontier Region Kohat on 
September 23 after nearly a month of more limited activity.  The 
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) office claimed that 
security forces had killed over 50 militants since August 29 
when the militants took control of the Kohat Tunnel.  The 
purpose of the new offensive is to clear the Kohat tunnel, which 
links Peshawar with the southern districts of the North-West 
Frontier Province (NWFP) on the Indus Highway.  The tunnel was 
closed after the arrest of a local taliban commander and clashes 
with security forces, which involved a suicide attack.  Despite 
the limited cordon and search operations that the police and 
security forces began in late August, the security situation has 
continued to deteriorate.  Thousands of residents have fled the 
area, as the southern districts continue to be cut off from 
Peshawar and businesses have been adversely affected.  Some 
areas of neighboring Kohat, meanwhile, have formed lashkars 
(volunteer militias) to combat the militants. 
 
Security Forces Attempt to Clear Tunnel in Time for Eid 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2.  (C) The newly appointed IGFC, Tariq Khan, told the Acting 
Principal Officer in Peshawar that security forces launched 
Operation Eagle Swoop Phase-II on September 23.  The objective 
is to secure the Pakistan-Japan Friendship Tunnel, more commonly 
known as the Kohat Tunnel, so that it can be reopened for 
traffic.  For several days the government had been criticized by 
political parties and popular protests for not controlling vital 
positions along the main road artery linking the southern half 
of the province with Peshawar, despite the limited cordon and 
search operations that the Frontier Corps and police operation 
have conducted since August 29.  The IGFC hopes to clear the 
tunnel before the heavy travel expected for the Eid holiday 
following Ramadan, likely to begin on October 1. 
 
¶3.  (C) The ISPR office claimed that the security forces killed 
50 militants since late August and caused hundreds more to flee 
the area.  Civilian contacts say that the security forces have 
not reopened the tunnel, contrary to headlines in the national 
press, and that the gains are not yet clear.  The Frontier Corps 
(FC) issued a press release a few days before the operation 
began, charging miscreants in the area with attacking law 
enforcement personnel, looting banks and disrupting traffic on 
the Indus Highway.  The FC claimed that local residents were 
calling on security forces to reestablish the writ of the 
government.  Multiple local contacts suspect that militant 
activities in Frontier Region Peshawar and along the Kohat Road 
leading to Peshawar are being staged in Darra Adam Khel.  The 
IGFC said that this operation, however, delayed a planned 
offensive in Peshawar district at Michni, on the border with 
Khyber and Mohmand agencies. 
 
Tunnel Closed for Nearly Four Weeks 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Militants moved in to take over the Kohat Tunnel on 
August 29, a day after the arrest of two of their local 
commanders and the same day they mounted a suicide attack at the 
tunnel.  An explosives-laden vehicle detonated when it came 
under fire by security personnel at the tunnel.  Thirty-six 
members of the security forces were injured, including a colonel 
(ref. B).  Just days later on September 2, militants fired 
several rockets at the tunnel, causing peripheral damage (ref. 
A).  The security forces last recaptured the tunnel in late 
January amidst rising militancy in the area (ref. C).  Post 
contacts claim that shelling by the security forces in the past 
month has damaged ten villages and five mosques in the Darra 
Adam Khel area, known as a hub for gun manufacturing and 
approximately ten kilometers northwest of the tunnel. 
 
 
PESHAWAR 00000472  002 OF 002 
 
 
A Marked Deterioration in Security since August 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4. (C) The security situation in Darra Adam Khel began 
deteriorating in August when militants stepped up their attacks 
on local targets.  The local taliban have been demanding the 
release of five of their commanders arrested in Hangu and Darra 
Adam Khel, according to press reports.  In the most notable 
attack, a remote-controlled bomb killed six members of the 
Frontier Constabulary in the town on September 16 as their 
convoy conducted a routine patrol.  The very next day on 
September 17, militants blew up a nearby bridge on the Indus 
Highway.  Militants ambushed a Frontier Constabulary check post 
at Spina Thana at the northern entrance of Darra Adam Khel four 
days later, injuring 19 personnel.  On September 28, a day 
before the full operation began, a remote-controlled bomb struck 
an army convoy, killing one soldier.  Over the past two months, 
militants have burned or damaged many schools in the area. 
 
No Direct Route between Southern NWFP and Peshawar 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (C) The residents of the southern half of NWFP have also been 
affected by the situation in Darra Adam Khel, because the tunnel 
and the Indus Highway are important road links to Peshawar.  The 
route via nearby Kotal Pass, which had been the primary 
north-south link until 2003 when the tunnel was completed, is 
also closed due to the militancy.  Alternate roads through 
Orakzai are dangerous due to the local taliban check posts, 
where militants ask drivers to show identity cards and remove 
their shirts, apparently to identify Shi'a travelers who often 
have scars on their backs from self-flagellation during the 
ritual of Ashura (ref. A).  Residents of Kohat, Bannu, Karak, 
Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Hangu districts are all 
affected, as are those living in North and South Waziristan. 
(Note: Kurram has been cut off entirely since November because 
of militant control of the Thall-Parachinar road linking the 
agency to Hangu.  End note.)  Drive times and costs of public 
transportation have tripled or quadrupled with the tunnel's 
closure.  Businessmen are reporting declining stocks and rising 
prices on essential commodities due to the difficulty in 
delivery goods to the region.  Arms manufacturers in Darra Adam 
Khel claim that their business has come to a standstill. 
 
Families Fleeing the Area, Lashkar Formed in Kohat 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (C) The government has imposed a curfew on the area since 
August 29, but thousands of residents have fled in the past 
month due to the unrest and food shortages.  The district 
administration in neighboring Kohat recently set up a relief 
camp to house some of the displaced, though many families are 
fleeing to Peshawar or staying with friends and relatives.  On 
September 11 the people of neighboring Kohat set up a lashkar to 
defend themselves against the spreading militancy, galvanized by 
the insecurity and the widespread destruction of schools and 
property in the area. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (C) Operations to clear the Kohat Tunnel have been successful 
in the past but have failed to prevent the return of militancy 
to the area.  The security forces may indeed achieve their 
objective of reopening the tunnel in this latest effort.  But 
the prospects of longer term success are unclear.  The operation 
in January had more forces at its disposal and arguably fewer 
distractions of concurrent operations.  The public frustration 
at the closure of the tunnel could turn more hostile if the 
government does not succeed in linking the southern districts to 
Peshawar before Eid. 
VIA