VZCZCXRO7085
OO RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #2839/01 3281245
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 241245Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6137
INFO RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 2604
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 8204
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 7251

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 002839 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PK
SUBJECT: EMBASSY ISLAMABAD P1 REFERRAL: FAMILY OF JOHN 
SOLECKI'S DRIVER/INTERPRETER 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary: Embassy Islamabad hereby refers for P1 
U.S. resettlement consideration/in-country processing the 
family of Syed Hashim, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) staff member killed by a Baloch nationalist group on 
February 2, 2009 at the time of the kidnapping of U.S. 
citizen John Solecki, then head of UNHCR's Sub-Office in 
Quetta, Pakistan.  Mr. Hashim's family members face a 
combination of risks due to their UN affiliation, Hazara 
ethnicity, U.S. association through Solecki, vulnerable 
status as a female-headed household and family survivors of a 
terrorist attack, and rumored compensation package which 
makes them an attractive target for abduction. An individual 
who previously sought to extort funds for information on Mr. 
Solecki's place of detention has also approached Mr. Hashim's 
family seeking to determine their financial status.  As Mr. 
Hashim,s family is still located in Pakistan, UNHCR 
Islamabad cannot refer them to USRAP and has requested the 
U.S. to consider them for an Embassy referral and in-country 
processing. UNHCR has outlined the risks and well-founded 
fears they face. In a Pakistani environment of heightened 
insecurity and targeted attacks on UN staff, it is in the 
U.S. interest to support a key UN humanitarian assistance 
partner in its efforts to support and protect the family of a 
fallen colleague.  Mr. Hashim's legal permanent resident 
brother (in the U.S. since 2000) has indicated an interest in 
supporting the family's integration into the U.S.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
----------------------------------- 
BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Embassy Islamabad refers for P1 U.S. resettlement 
consideration/in-country processing the following five (5) 
family members of Syed Hashim (deceased): 
 
Name: KHAUNUM, Zahara 
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Self 
DPOB: December 17, 1959, Quetta, Pakistan 
Gender: Female 
Nationality: Pakistani 
Passport:  C575039 (expired) 
Current Address/Location: House No. 7-47/6A, Syed Abad, 
Alamdar Road, Quetta, Pakistan 
Phone: 92-81-2668825 
 
Name: KAZMI, Nadi 
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Daughter 
DPOB: March 25, 1983, Quetta, Pakistan 
Nationality: Pakistani 
Passport: photo and personal data on mother's expired passport 
Current Address/Location: same as above 
 
Name: KAZMI, Syed Mujtaba 
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Son 
DPOB: September 1, 1988, Quetta, Pakistan 
Nationality: Pakistani 
Passport: photo and personal data on mother's expired passport 
Current Address/Location: same as above 
 
Name: SHAH, Syed Tayyab Shah 
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Son 
DPOB February 15, 1991, Quetta, Pakistan 
Nationality: Pakistani 
Passport: listed with photo on mother's expired passport 
although birth date is incorrect 
          (Birth certificate is also available.) 
                                     Current 
Address/Location: same as above 
 
Name: KAZMI, Sadia 
Relationship to Principal Applicant: Daughter 
DPOB January 18, 1994, Quetta, Pakistan 
Nationality: Pakistani 
Passport: listed with photo on mother's expired passport 
although birth date is incorrect 
          (Birth certificate is also available.) 
Current Address/Location: same as above 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
REASON FOR REFERRAL/U.S. INTEREST 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  In a Pakistani environment of heightened insecurity 
and targeted attacks on UN staff, the role of UN local 
employees becomes all the more important and the risks they 
face all the greater. In this volatile and policy critical 
part of the world, UNHCR plays an essential role in providing 
assistance to 1.7 million Afghan refugees and a 
 
ISLAMABAD 00002839  002 OF 003 
 
 
conflict-displaced local population which peaked at 2.8 
million.  It is in the U.S. interest, and is the right and 
humanitarian thing to do, to support this key UN humanitarian 
assistance partner in its efforts to support and protect the 
family of a fallen colleague.  Mr. Hashim was also killed 
while supporting a U.S. citizen. 
 
-------------------------- 
PERSECUTION CLAIM 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Syed Hashim's family members have reason to fear 
harm due to a combination of factors including their 
association with both UNHCR and the U.S.  A Baloch 
nationalist group claimed responsibility for the February 2, 
2009 kidnapping of U.S. citizen and UNHCR Sub-Office Head 
John Solecki and for the killing Mr. Hashim, his driver and 
interpreter.  According to UNHCR, the kidnapping and killing 
were part of the Baloch group's effort to raise the profile 
of human rights abuses in Balochistan and to protest the 
U.N.'s perceived silence with respect to the government's 
military action, long-standing civilian displacement, and 
human rights abuse in Balochistan.  Subsequent to Mr. 
Solecki's release some months later, Baloch militants have 
declared the UN to be a "legitimate" target and cited the 
lack of UN humanitarian response in Balochistan compared to 
robust cooperation with the government in providing 
humanitarian assistance in the Northwest Frontier Province 
(NWFP).  The UN has since had limited to no operations in 
Balochistan for security reasons. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  This ethnically Hazara family also has reason to 
fear the targeting of Hazaras by Baloch nationalists.  As law 
enforcement responsibilities have passed from police to 
paramilitary forces in Balochistan, there has been an 
increase in reported arbitrary arrests and disappearances of 
Baloch students and activists.  These events have been met 
with a series of targeted killings of non-Baloch, 
particularly Hazaras.  Designated as "settlers", Hazaras, 
like Mr. Hashim's family, are seen by Baloch separatists as 
taking Baloch jobs and resources and being part of a larger 
State plan to change the ethnic demography, and the balance 
of power, in Balochistan. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In addition to Baloch nationalists, Pakistani 
Taliban also have targeted UN agencies.  This targeting is 
reflected in the bombing of the UN World Food Program (WFP) 
in Islamabad, and the prior killing of a senior UNHCR local 
staff member in Kacha Gari IDP camp near Peshawar.  Both 
Baloch nationalists and the Pakistani Taliban have sought to 
disable UN humanitarian assistance which bolsters the efforts 
of the Government of Pakistan to support the Pakistani 
population. Pakistani national staff are essential to UN 
operations in general, and UNHCR's operations in specific, 
particularly in light of the increasingly dangerous security 
situation for, and heightened security restrictions on, 
international staff. Nothing would have a more chilling 
effect on the essential participation of Pakistani national 
staff than the targeting of the family members of an already 
victimized colleague.  The numerous bombings over the last 
few weeks of military, police and intelligence facilities in 
rural and urban areas in several provinces are evidence of 
the lack of effective State protection available.  UNHCR also 
argues that the perceived U.S. pressure, widely covered in 
the media, for the Pakistani military to confront the taliban 
in South Waziristan also puts those affiliated with the U.S. 
at risk. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In addition, Mr. Hashim's family members have 
security concerns based on the local community's belief that 
the family received significant sums in compensation and life 
insurance from the UN.  This belief makes family members a 
prime target for abduction.  Such concerns were exacerbated 
in March when the family was approached by an individual 
purporting to be a friend of the deceased and trying to 
determine the family's financial status.  An investigation by 
the UN Department of Safety and Security and the relevant 
Pakistani intelligence agency determined that this individual 
had also attempted to extort money from the UN in exchange 
for information related to Mr. Solecki's detention. UNHCR 
considered internal relocation options for Mr. Hashim's 
family, as the family has extended relatives in Karachi, but 
it was determined that joining the Hazara community there 
would present the same danger as in Quetta. 
 
-------------------------------- 
NEED FOR RESETTLEMENT 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
ISLAMABAD 00002839  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Mr. Hashim,s family lacks a durable solution to 
their current situation.  For the reasons stated above, they 
fear and risk serious harm, based on their UN affiliation, 
Hazara ethnicity, U.S. association, and perceived new wealth, 
if they remain in Pakistan. 
 
 
------------------------- 
RECOMMENDATION 
------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Based on the aforementioned grounds, UNHCR has 
requested that the U.S. facilitate resettlement to the U.S. 
of Mr. Hashim's family, and post recommends in-country 
consideration for P1 refugee resettlement. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) There is no neighboring country (Afghanistan, 
India, Iran, or China) which would afford safety and security 
as a country of first asylum for this female-headed 
household. Remaining at home pending processing would provide 
some socio-economic stability for a family already 
traumatized by the loss of their husband/father. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Mr. Hashim's brother Syed Haider Shah Kazmi, who 
has resided in California since 2000 and is currently a legal 
permanent resident, has indicated a wish to support Mr. 
Hashim's family's integration into the U.S. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
EMBASSY CONTACT INFORMATION 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  For additional information, please contact 
Islamabad Refugee Coordinator, Liane Dorsey (92-51-208-2689; 
DorseyLR@state.gov) 
 
PATTERSON