US embassy cable - 05ISLAMABAD15677

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 015677 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT - PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
KABUL -- PLEASE PASS TO CFC-A 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PK, MASS, AEMR, PREF, ASEC, PGOV EAID, Earthquake 
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: ONLY MINOR MISSTEPS IN 
MILITARY RESPONSE 
 
REF: ISLAMABAD 15559 AND NOTAL 
 
1.  (U)  In the days since a violent 7.6 earthquake rocked 
northern Pakistan at 0853 October 8th, the Pakistan military 
has responded to the national crisis with valor and 
dedication.  Army helicopters were in the air less than two 
hours after the quake struck, flying reconnaissance missions 
over the North West Frontier Province and the Pakistan side 
of Kashmir. Before noon that same morning, Pak helicopter 
crews were flying the casualties back to Islamabad, bringing 
with them first accounts of the widespread devastation 
suffered in this mountainous area.  Since that day, the 
Pakistani military has personified patriotism and 
professionalism, demonstrating precisely why the military is 
the most highly-respected national institution in this 
country. 
 
2.  (U)  Despite their own casualties and losses, military 
units -- from GHQ commanders to the lowest jawan -- have 
worked unceasingly over the past ten days executing rescue 
and relief missions in the most challenging conditions, 
organizing a massive air lift of humanitarian relief supplies 
into Pakistan and pushing those supplies north by helicopter 
sorties and truck convoys.  There has been no indication that 
any military unit has shirked its duty during this national 
crisis.  Indeed, post has heard Pakistanis proudly cite the 
dedication of those who have soldiered on, regardless of 
their personal losses, such as the brigadier organizing 
rescue and relief operations in near Balakot even as his own 
family lay buried beneath the rubble. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Although the military quickly shifted into 
response mode after the earthquake, it took the Government of 
Pakistan (GOP) a full 24 hours to begin to comprehend the 
scope of this natural disaster, and another 48 hours to 
establish the relief infrastructure necessary to coordinate 
relief operations.  (Note:  Looking back at the recent U.S. 
experience with Hurricane Katrina, it is not surprising that 
the GOP lost precious days struggling to grasp the parameters 
of this unprecedented calamity.  One high-ranking politician 
confided to emboff, "We didn't have a FEMA, so we had to 
start from scratch."  End note.)  While the newly-created 
Federal Relief Commission (FRC) set up an office in the Prime 
Minister's Secretariat and began hammering out a concept of 
operations, the Army and Pakistani Air Force (PAF) conducted 
organized, coordinated and professional relief missions 24/7. 
 Army helos carried supplies to hastily-established 
forward-operating bases in Muzzafarabad and Mansehra, flying 
into narrow valleys to survey areas inaccessible by road. 
the danger was underscored by the loss of an MI-17 and its 
crew on October 13th when a change in weather trapped it in a 
valley. PAF C-130s began air drops of relief supplies within 
the first few days of operations.  The military has deployed 
every resource at its disposal -- from sophisticated air 
assets to mule trains -- to get help to those who need it. 
In many leveled towns, civil administration vanished as the 
physical infrastructure collapsed, with thousands of public 
officials and service providers among the quake victims. The 
army worked to fill that void, imposing order on chaos. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Troops (11th Corps) garrisoned in the region 
immediately began relief operations in the NWFP, even though 
their units lost suffered close to 1300 casualties, with more 
than 450 killed.  (Note:  Many troops would have not only 
lost comrades, but also family members living near the 
garrisons.  End note.)  Despite the new mission that nature 
involuntarily thrust upon it, the Army has capably responded 
to these new demands without compromising on-going security 
operations in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas to the 
west of the quake zone.  Instead, the 10th Corps has 
reinforced its brother unit with troops and supply lines from 
the Punjab.  In effect, since the earthquake, the entire 
Pakistani military (the 11th Corps in particular) has been 
waging the equivalent of a two-front war -- and, in post's 
view, doing so with distinction. 
 
5.  (SBU)  Of course, there have been missteps and the 
occasional institutional friction along the way, as the 
nascent FRC has bumped against the near omnipotent GHQ.  Even 
with these growing pains, the military has effectively (if 
not always seamlessly) managed a relief system that has moved 
more than a half milllion pounds of humanitarian assistance, 
along with rescue teams, medical personnel and crisis 
managers, into some of the most unforgiving terrain 
imaginable.  Ten days into the crisis, the trends continue to 
be encouraging. GHQ acknowledges the FRC's leadership role, 
telling emboffs that the FRC "speaks for the GOP." 
Coordination between military and civilian agencies improves 
daily. 
 
6.  (SBU)  The best evidence of Pakistani military 
professionalism has been the grace with which U.S. military 
assistance has been accepted and welcomed.  Confident that 
our assurances that U.S. forces are to support the Pakistani 
relief mission are sincere, both the Army and PAF have shown 
an increasing level of transparency and openness in 
coordinating with U.S. military interlocutors.  Simply put, 
our uniforms speak the same language as their uniforms; 
together, they have made things happen.  Two weeks ago, 
post's military liaisons were haggling to secure access for 
Embassy motorcades at the Chaklala air field; today, at that 
same air field, NAVCENT's 209-person Disaster Assistance 
Center is running independent flight operations for 400 
fixed-wing and helo sorties and managing a logistical 
operation pushing tons of relief supplies to the disaster 
area. 
 
7. (SBU)  It cannot have been easy for the proud Pakistani 
military to admit that it needed help to respond to the needs 
of its citizens; that it has done so demonstrates that its 
commitment to duty trumps institutional vanity.  By according 
the Pakistan military the respect it deserves for its 
competent and comprehensive emergency response, the U.S. 
makes it easier for military leaders to be receptive to our 
guidance and suggestions for improving coordination and 
efficiency.  In the end, we must always remember that this is 
Pakistan's crisis; as a FRC contact told emboffs on October 
18, "As much as we appreciate the U.S. effort, it is up to 
our internal organizational abilities to bring relief to our 
nation." 
CROCKER