VZCZCXRO2523
OO RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #1445/01 1811509
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301509Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3523
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0592
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0822
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 5192
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 1939
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 7541
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 6490
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 001445 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID MOPS PGOV PINR PK PREF PREL
SUBJECT: IDP UPDATE: REGISTRATION INITIATED FOR WAZIRISTAN 
AND RESTRICTED FOR MALAKAND 
 
REF: ISLAMABAD 1360 
 
¶1.     (SBU) Summary: Registration has begun for internally 
displaced people from South Waziristan Agency (SWA) in two 
districts and a frontier region east of the agency; only 
those whose sole residence is in SWA will be eligible.  The 
Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) government has forbidden 
new/new IDP registration from all but two towns in the 
Malakand division, despite the more extensive Malakand area 
designated as a conflict-affected zone two weeks ago.  The 
NWFP government has also created a new administrative 
structure to coordinate provincial government efforts for 
Malakand reconstruction and restoration of governance, the 
total cost of which could be up to USD 1 billion.  End 
summary. 
 
Registration Begins for South Waziristan IDPs 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.     (U) According to UNICEF, Lieutenant General Nadeem 
Ahmed expects up to 200,000 total IDPs from South Waziristan 
Agency (SWA), of which he expects 70,000 to require 
humanitarian assistance.  Many affected individuals are 
expected to reside with host families or in second homes in 
districts adjacent to Waziristan.  Nevertheless, the actual 
number of individuals who will require emergency relief 
assistance remains unclear.  During the week of June 29, the 
UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) plans to conduct 
a preliminary security assessment in Dera Ismail Khan 
district and surrounding areas.  Security permitting, 
representatives of each of the UN clusters will participate 
in a full assessment of D.I. Khan some time after the 
conclusion of the UNDSS study. 
 
¶3.     (SBU) On June 26, USAID field staff reported that 
Pakistani government data entry for displaced families from 
SWA is underway in Frontier Region D.I. Khan (in the FATA) 
and in Tank district.  Registration is being conducted 
through the NWFP Provincial Relief Commissioner's Office, 
with the support of the Federal Ministry of Social Welfare, 
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 
and a local nongovernmental organization. 
 
¶4.     (SBU) D.I. Khan district officials, representatives 
from FIDA (a local NGO), and elders from the Mahsud tribe met 
June 29 to decide modalities for IDP registration in D.I. 
Khan district (in the NWFP), which will begin this week. 
Registration will take place at three locations in D.I. Khan 
district (Dinpur, Lahkra, and Kulachiwala), and National 
Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) mobile vans will 
be made available at all three locations to make and issue 
identification cards to those who do not have them.  The 
parties agreed that those SWA residents whose identification 
cards show that they have a temporary address (e.g., for a 
second home) outside of SWA will not/not be eligible for 
registration as an IDP.  (Note:  According to the head of 
NADRA, NWFP authorities have determined that those displaced 
from NWFP to areas outside the NWFP - such as Punjab and 
Sindh - similarly will be ineligible for government benefits 
if they have temporary addresses in the places where they 
register.) 
 
Registration Restriction for Malakand IDPs 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.     (SBU) According to a member of the staff of the NWFP's 
Emergency Response Unit (ERU), the NWFP cabinet has decided 
to limit new/new registration of IDPs to those coming from a 
few designated areas.  Starting June 29, only IDPs from Kabal 
and Shamozai in Swat district, Charmang tehsil of Bajaur 
Agency, Upper Mohmand, and Kurram Agency will be registered. 
The ERU staff member speculated that the government had taken 
this decision in order to stop the influx of people from 
other areas who wished to obtain the government-proffered 
25,000-rupee (USD 312) debit card (reftel). 
 
¶6.    (U) This limitation of registration to only two areas 
in the Malakand division contrasts with the NWFP 
government,s June 16 notification of declared Malakand 
division conflict zones, which designated areas from which 
fleeing people could be registered as IDPs and is still in 
effect.  That notification includes the union councils 
 
ISLAMABAD 00001445  002 OF 003 
 
 
(Pakistan's smallest administrative unit) of Doog Darra in 
Upper Dir district; Chakdara, Tazagram, Asbanr, Haya Sarai, 
Bishigram, Kotkay, Lal Qila, Gall Maidan, Zermdara, Lajbook, 
and Ouch in Lower Dir; Koga, Nawagai, Norizi, Rega, Karapa, 
Pacha Killi, Dewana Baba, Daggar, Gagra, Gokand, Malakpur, 
Tor Warsak, Abakhel, Malikhel, Gadezai, Ellai, Batara, 
Gulbandai, Pandair, Soray, Shalbandi, Sarwari, Makhrani, and 
Amazai in Buner; Aloock, Malik Khel, and Martoong Khas in 
Shangla; and all union councils in Swat. 
 
Mingora Assessment 
------------------ 
 
¶7.     (SBU) On June 27, USAID staff accompanied local 
government officials to Mingora, Swat's largest city, to 
conduct an assessment of affected areas.  The city is still 
under strict curfew, making movement inside the city very 
difficult for civilians.  The team observed artillery being 
fired in the near vicinity of the city, and electricity, 
while functioning, is spotty.  Banks and public buildings 
have seen extensive looting and damage.  Some district 
officials, including the Commissioner for the Malakand 
Division, were back at work, but they were primarily 
concerned with re-establishing their offices in working 
order.  At least some medical facilities also seem to be 
functioning, though the level of care might not be high. 
 
New NWFP Coordinating Body for Malakand Reconstruction 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.     (U) Shakil Qadir Khan, the chief of the 
newly-established Provincial Relief, Reconstruction, and 
Settlement Authority (PaRRSA), briefed USAID Country Director 
on the NWFP government's early recovery plans for 
conflict-affected areas in the Malakand division.  The PaRRSA 
will assume operational control of efforts for initial 
infrastructure restoration and also support IDP resettlement 
needs.  Its staff, which will number over 100, will be drawn 
from existing provincial and district departments. 
 
¶9.     (U) Qadir described the process by which district 
civil servants will identify recovery needs and indicated 
that reconstruction and recovery funds will be channeled 
through existing administrative structures.  The PaRRSA does 
not plan to manage food distribution or cash support (such as 
the 25,000-rupee debit card), which are implemented largely 
through the UN World Food Program (WFP) and the Pakistani 
Ministry of Social Welfare respectively.  It instead plans to 
initially focus on temporary repairs to houses and 
infrastructure and the reestablishment of governance and 
livelihood activities.  The PaRRSA will play a coordinating 
role for donor and NGO support to returnees and affected 
areas. 
 
¶10.   (U) The NNWFP's estimated cost for the initial phase is 
approximately USD 70 million.  Qadir explained that 
additional support will be planned and programmed for the 
districts in the next phases of the effort, in order not only 
to repair damage but to improve upon pre-displacement 
infrastructure and stimulate economic activity.  The PaRRSA 
is currently working with district-level civil servants, 
provincial departments, and technical staff from the World 
Bank and Asian Development Bank on a Damage and Needs 
Assessment (DANA) exercise.  The preliminary draft is 
expected in late July.  Although Qadir was unable to project 
total financing requirements for reconstruction, he estimated 
that the cost would be up to one billion dollars. 
 
Health and WASH Issues 
---------------------- 
 
¶11.   (U) At a June 24 UN Health Cluster coordination 
meeting, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 
reported on its continuing health assessments in Swat and 
Upper Dir districts.  ICRC reported that 86 of the 238 health 
facilities in Swat, Buner, Shangla, and Lower Dir districts 
require some level of reconstruction.  Of the damaged 
facilities, 27 have been completely destroyed and 59 others 
have sustained serious damages.  This assessment was not, 
however, comprehensive, as access to areas of recent and 
ongoing conflict remains restricted. 
 
 
ISLAMABAD 00001445  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶12.   (U) Representatives of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
on June 25 told USAID staff that future UNICEF water, 
sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities will be directed 
primarily toward IDPs residing outside camps.  UNICEF stated 
that its initial WASH assistance had been directed at the 
newly-established camps due to their limited WASH 
infrastructure and the need to mitigate waterborne disease 
outbreaks; this infrastructure is now in place in the camps. 
PATTERSON