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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000941 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID PK
SUBJECT: GOP BRIEFS A NEW STRATCOM PLAN 
 
Classified By: CDA Gerald M. Feierstein, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  In an April 31 meeting with A/DCM and PAO, 
new Minister of Information and Broadcasting Kaira described 
the GOP,s planned national public affairs campaign to build 
public support for the fight against extremism.  The plan 
includes hiring local public relations firms to create ads 
for print and electronic media, public relations training for 
officials, content development for radio and TV, special 
events planning with civil society partners and nationwide 
polling.  We expect President Zardari will brief this plan to 
the President next week.  While encouraged that the GOP 
finally is thinking along these lines, its capacity to 
implement and fund it over the long term is yet to be seen. 
Kaira expressed willingness to work with the USG on the 
engagement of a consultant to assist in all phases of 
developing, coordinating and executing a strategic 
communications plan.  In addition, he expressed interest in 
USG assistance in content development, training, and purchase 
of infrastructure.  This conversation marks a new opening 
with the GOP in terms of strategic communications planning. 
Post is following for specifics on how we can coordinate 
assistance.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) A/DCM and PAO met April 30 with the new Minister of 
Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira; the 
Secretary of the Ministry, Ashfaq Ahmad Gondal; and the 
Ministry's Strategic Communications Specialist, Ammara 
Durrani.  Talking just days after the recent Pakistani 
military's offensive against insurgent Taliban in Buner, the 
Minister was keen to discuss the GOP,s planned, but 
yet-to-begin, public affairs campaign.  Under wraps for now, 
but reportedly months in the making, the campaign is 
purportedly set to launch in the coming weeks and is designed 
to nurture and strengthen public opinion against the 
extremist elements.  The Minister said they wish to capture 
the public ire over recent actions by extremist groups and 
turn that into an understanding that is the public's war to 
fight.  The campaign will consist of five parts: 1) paid 
print and electronic advertising; 2) training for public 
spokesmen, parliamentarians, GOP officials and pundits; 3) 
content development for radio and television programming; 4) 
special events planning to develop grassroots understanding 
by reaching out to students, unions, government employees, 
NGOs and other natural constituents; and 5) nationwide 
polling. 
 
¶3.  (C) Although unclear on the amount or sources of funding 
for this campaign, the Minister was clear that they were not 
going to &wait for the funding;8 rather, they would move 
ahead as soon as possible, contracting with public relations 
firms and others to carry out their message.  We were pleased 
to hear that they plan on including polling as a measure of 
effectiveness, and to help understand the importance of 
knowing where they stand to help them get where they want to 
go.  The PAO is holding subsequent meetings with the 
strategic communications specialist to learn more about the 
program and to begin coordinating the most effective 
assistance we can provide to the GOP.  Further communications 
will outline the depth of their campaign, its themes, 
messaging and budget.  One of our biggest questions is how 
the GOP will implement the campaign.  Lacking depth in the 
communications fields, in the past the GOP has contracted out 
these efforts, spreading the messaging to several competing 
public relations firms, a practice ) according to some local 
public relations professionals - that has led to a certain 
level of incoherence, and ineffective campaigns. 
 
¶4.  (C) Apparent during the conversation was a lack of 
coordination with the military that had just begun their new 
campaign against the extremists in Buner.  At the beginning 
of the meeting, the PAO pointed out that the Inter-Services 
Public Relations office (ISPR - the Pakistani military public 
affairs branch) was to hold their second press conference of 
the new campaign that afternoon.  The Minister noted it, 
saying that they would be discussing operational aspects. 
PAO responded that with this type of kinetic action, it was 
important for the Government to be up front in discussing why 
it is carrying out these actions, how it was helping the 
people and what it was going to do for the people to help 
them recover after the fighting ended.  None of that had been 
done to date.  The Minister agreed, but it was clear that 
level of communication had not been considered and was likely 
 
ISLAMABAD 00000941  002 OF 002 
 
 
not part of the new campaign they are planning. 
 
¶5.  (C) When asked, the Minister admitted that the campaign 
had been developed in-house and that it is going to be 
carried out by a cell of his own staff.  He admitted that 
they had not considered bringing in a consultant, but when 
asked directly if they would consider one, he agreed that 
there was a place for assistance and that a consultant could 
provide strategic communications planning and assist in the 
implementation of their messaging, as well as assist in 
coordination messages throughout the government. 
 
¶6.  (C) When advised that we were considering reprogramming 
funding to help them with their strategic communications, 
they also discussed the need for: assistance with content 
development for radio and television; training for their 
staff, parliamentarians, and government spokesmen; and 
assistance in the purchase of infrastructure (radio 
transmitters, e.g.) to help them disseminate their message to 
the public. 
 
¶7.  (C) The conversation jibes with two other encounters 
mission staff have recently had.  The first was the Office of 
Transition Implementation (OTI) officer working with the 
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat media 
cell who was approached by the Pakistani Military 
Inter-Services Public Relations office (ISPR) seeking 
$700,000-800,000 to develop radio content to be aired into 
the FATA and Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP).  The second 
was a conversation the Information Officer had with the 
director of Pakistani Public Radio, who lamented the 
condition of their Soviet-era transmitters and the fact that 
the extremists are taking down their towers in the FATA.  The 
director said that with one million dollars, they could 
purchase a one gigawatt transmitter that would enable them to 
send a strong signal into the FATA and NWFP that could not be 
taken down by the extremists. 
 
¶8.  (C) We have seen over the last several weeks that the 
will to take on extremist messaging exists within the GOP and 
its military.  However, it is obvious that their efforts need 
guidance from professionals experienced in this level of 
strategic communications, training to develop and then carry 
out these efforts on their own, and resources to acquire the 
infrastructure to implement their campaigns.  In the past, 
GOP officials have been reticent to share this much 
information with us, or to directly look to us for 
assistance.  We believe that now is the time to engage them 
more directly and to work with them to begin coordinating our 
efforts.  To do that, we will need a substantial increase in 
funding, a willingness to work with the Pakistanis in unique 
ways, and understanding that, unlike Afghanistan and Iraq, 
here we do not &own8 the airwaves or media and will need to 
work with the GOP as an integral partner each step of the 
way. 
FEIERSTEIN