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INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 4603
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 1392
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PESHAWAR 000024 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/9/2019 
TAGS: MOPS PTER EAID PGOV PK
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH NORTHWEST FRONTIER PROVINCE GOVERNOR 
GHANI CONCERNING INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS, OPERATIONS AND QUICK 
REACTION FORCES 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, Peshawar, 
Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b), (d) 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Owais Ghani 
met with Ambassador and Peshawar Principal Officer on January 
¶27.  Ghani said that "while major military operations are over 
in Bajaur and Mohmand, the problems are not."  Each agency would 
have one to three Quick Reaction Forces (QRF), each with their 
own dedicated artillery and tanks.  Ghani stated internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) returning to Bajaur would need two 
months of food, fuel wood and assistance to rebuild their homes. 
 In response to calls for speeding up the pace of justice, Ghani 
intends to expand a pilot alternative dispute resolution project 
that has allowed the quick settlement of simple civil cases at 
police stations by a committee of community leaders.  Funding 
for the QRFs in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) 
as well as the police in the NWFP is an ongoing challenge for 
provincial leaders.  End Summary. 
 
Major Military Operations Over 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Owais Ghani 
met with Ambassador and Peshawar Principal Officer on January 
¶27.  In addition, Peshawar Pol/Econ Chief attended the meeting. 
 
¶3. (C) Ghani told the Ambassador that "while major military 
operations in Bajaur and Mohmand are over, the problems are 
not."   He explained that pockets of resistance were still 
present in Bajaur, Mohmand, and Khyber where they had been 
conducting operations recently, but the GOP was moving into a 
"Quick Reaction Force" (QRF) mode in each of the agencies.  Some 
operations may be conducted where an area will be cordoned off 
and forces sent in to hit specific targets. 
 
Swat Ambush of Militants 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Ghani stated that after militants had repeatedly dropped 
bodies of their victims at a well known intersection in the Swat 
valley, the GOP set up an ambush.  The ambush killed 5 militants 
and then left their bodies at the same intersection, which ended 
the practice in that area. 
 
QRF-Mode: A New Approach 
------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Ghani said each agency would have one to three QRF forces 
available, each with their own dedicated artillery and tanks. 
The tanks will be deployed in "troops" of three with six to nine 
total tanks per agency.  He stated that the QRF will be ready to 
react in a "couple of hours" to situations as they arose with 
direct cooperation between the local military commander and the 
Political Agent.  He expected the QRF Mode of operations to last 
at least six to twelve months. 
 
Khyber PA Directs First Use of QRF 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) As evidence of the new QRF strategy, Ghani cited a recent 
military action in Khyber agency ordered by the Khyber PA from 
the Governor's Office.  He said that during a meeting in the 
Governor's Office, the PA received a call on his cell phone with 
actionable information concerning militants in Khyber.  Based on 
the new arrangement, the PA gave specific instructions to the 
local commandant who took immediate action against militants 
near Landi Kotal.  The QRF action quickly "dealt with" the 
militants in the area with minimal interruption of the 
Peshawar-Landi Kotal route.  (Note: The Peshawar-Landi Kotal 
route is a principal supply route for NATO supplies entering 
Afghanistan. End Note.)  Ghani added that during the recent 
Bajaur operations, the relationship between the Frontier Corps 
and the Political Agent had been excellent with the PA giving 
the military instructions of who to "hit." 
 
What IDPs Need 
 
PESHAWAR 00000024  002 OF 002 
 
 
-------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Responding to Ambassador's query about what the NWFP 
needed to resettle IDPs in Bajaur, Ghani stated the government 
would need two months of food support, fuel wood, and help 
rebuilding their homes when they return probably in April.  He 
explained that most of the labor to rebuild their homes could 
come from the IDPs themselves, but they would need funds to buy 
timber and plastic sheets for roofing materials.  He stated that 
50,000 rupees per family should be sufficient for the house 
reconstruction efforts, and he favors direct cash to families 
via tribal leaders as it would help to bring business back to 
the area, reinvigorating the local economy. (Note: Rs 50,000 is 
approximately USD 650. End note.) 
 
Police Funding? 
---------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Responding to Ambassador's statement of potential 
additional police assistance Ghani asserted that a planned 
meeting January 24 between himself, President Zadari, and NWFP 
Chief Minister Hoti to discuss additional funding for the NWFP 
Police was cancelled and not rescheduled.  Ghani said that the 
official reason for the cancellation was the absence of the 
Finance Minister, but he asserted that the real reason was that 
the GOP did not have the funds to pay for the needed assistance. 
 Ghani made a plea for assistance to raise additional police 
forces, increase their pay, and provide more equipment and 
training. 
 
Dispute Resolution At Police Stations 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Ghani described a pilot project in Abbottabad employing 
an alternative dispute resolutions mechanism aimed at responding 
to the calls for quicker justice, an area where local taliban 
have taken an advantage by setting up parallel courts that 
dispense "speedy" justice.  Under the project, simple civil 
disputes are decided at police stations by a committee of 
"esteemed" community leaders who serve with no salary on a 
rotating basis.  Ghani said that for issues involving property, 
family issues, rental and other business disputes each committee 
convening at its local police station is empowered to make 
judgments.  There are no court costs to either litigant and 
cases are decided within 15 calendar days.  Of the 2000 cases 
decided in October and November of 2008, only three had gone to 
higher courts.  Ghani said that he intends to expand the 
project, but he did not provide a date. 
 
Next Actions 
------------ 
 
¶10. (C) Ghani said that as the QRFs were being put in place and 
new Maliks appointed, the GOP would move to reward areas that 
had resisted the militants.  He said this strategy would revive 
the tribal system and be successful, because he has started to 
see signs that up to 50 percent of the militants funding has 
been cut off.  He cited as evidence the cost of an AK-47 rising 
to USD 1,000 from a previous low of USD 500 and one round of 
ammunition for an AK-47 rising recently to USD .50 from a 
previous low of USD .10. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. (C) Ghani's plan to have QRFs in the FATA (if fully 
implemented) and expansion of an alternative dispute resolution 
mechanism are steps that could boost morale among security 
forces and help build public confidence and support for local 
governing institutions.  In the settled areas, finding the 
funding to man, train, and equip the police remains the NWFP 
government's core security challenge. 
TRACY