US embassy cable - 05ISLAMABAD15736

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 015736 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/18/2015 
TAGS: AEMR, ASEC, EAID, MASS, PGOV, PREL, PK, Earthquake 
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: PUBLIC REACTION TOUR D'HORIZON 
 
REF: ISLAMABAD 15463 
 
Classified By: Derived from DSCG 05-01, b and d 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  Public criticism of the Government of 
Pakistan's (GOP) relief operations continues.  Media images 
of angry survivors still waiting for adequate relief, coupled 
with often-inaccurate and inflamatory editorials are fueling 
this resentment. Opposition parties have seized on this 
criticism to demand a full debate in the National Assembly in 
an effort to discredit the GOP.  Private individuals, 
companies, political parties and non-governmental 
organizations have initiated charitable drives, establishing 
collection points nationwide.  Some of these efforts are 
being channeled into GOP relief operations, while in other 
cases direct delivery to victims is being undertaken. 
Efforts by radical clerics to argue against acceptance of 
relief supplies from non-Muslim countries has failed, and 
public opinion seems very much in favor of taking aid from 
any donor, including Israel and India.  End Summary. 
 
Islamabad/Rawalpindi 
-------------------- 
 
2. (SBU)  With numerous Kashmiri families living and working 
in Islamabad, nearly everyone knows someone affected by this 
natural disaster.  Collection and donation points have been 
established by government entities, private businesses, 
political parties, and NGOs.  Banners and advertisements 
exhort residents to contribute generously, and many are doing 
so.  Prominent politicians and businessmen have used the 
opportunity to publicize their generosity.  Many of the 
donations collected are funneled to GOP-relief efforts, 
although in some cases private individuals, charities, and 
political parties are attempting to transport donations by 
road to Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) with decidedly mixed 
results.  Public criticism of the government-relief efforts 
remain vocal and widespread.  Anger remains over the collapse 
of the Margalla Tower apartments, the substandard 
construction of which appears to be the result of local 
government corruption.  Media continues to criticize the 
speed and coordination of the GOP's response; there are daily 
stories from areas that have yet to recieve sufficient help. 
Opposition parties are attacking the GOP relief effort.  A 
National Assembly open debate on October 14 degenerated into 
a shouting match with opposition politicians denouncing the 
GOP as incompetent.  The opposition has requested a full 
parliamentary debate on relief efforts.  Foreign donor aid 
has been uniformly welcomed and the magnitude of the response 
(which is visibly apparent at the international airport) has 
won praise from even normally critical audiences.  Indeed, 
initial Islamist objections to aid from non-Muslim countries, 
particularly Israel and India, were quickly silenced as 
public opinion seemed firmly in the other direction. 
 
Kashmir and NWFP 
---------------- 
 
4. (SBU) Post has reports from Pakistan-controlled Azad 
Kashmir (AJK) that the GOP response has not been 
well-received.  Unrealistically high expectations of the 
army's ability to deliver relief supplies coupled with severe 
logistical challenges and deteriorating weather conditions 
have created a well-spring of resentment.  Reports of attacks 
on aid convoys and distribution centers by villagers continue 
to filter back from the area, indicating a continuing sense 
of desperation.  While the GOP's growing focus on 
reconstruction may overcome this initial anger, for the 
moment AJK appears to feel largely neglected by the center. 
This perception endures despite international relief worker 
assessments that relief efforts (both GOP and private) are 
being distributed equitably among the affected areas based on 
need and accessibility. 
 
5. (SBU) In the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), business 
remains entirely focused on earthquake relief.  Charity 
drives are on the upswing, as people grasp the enormity of 
the damage to northeastern districts that now face a very 
difficult winter.  The relief effort continues to be hampered 
by a lack of overarching authority.  The Islamist Muttahida 
Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) government has been on the move 
throughout the hardest hit areas to coordinate the relief 
efforts with federal and Army units.  Within the MMA, 
officials are sniping at each other over the first-time 
attendance of Chief Minister Durrani at the October 12 
National Security Council meeting.  JI officials are saying 
"once, but never again," while JUI-F leaders argue such 
attendance is necessary to mount a more effective relief 
response.  In the Provincial Assembly, parties passed a 
unanimous resolution on October 17, calling for a specific 
earmark of international relief funds for NWFP.  This 
reflects a deeply-rooted distrust in national decision-making 
that the assembly feels will short change the province.  The 
English-language provincial press remains critical of the 
Army for an insufficient initial response, its refusal of 
Indian helicopter support, and its failure to divert more 
defense resources to the crisis.  The Urdu-language 
provincial press has, in contrast, been uniformly 
complimentary of army efforts in the province. 
Punjab 
------ 
 
6. (SBU) In Punjab, provincial and local efforts to collect 
and funnel relief efforts north are prominent and ongoing. 
While opposition parties remained relatively quiet during the 
first week following the earthquake, they have now begun to 
break their silence.  Opposition members explained that they 
had refrained from criticizing the government relief efforts 
in order to present a unified front, as well as to avoid the 
appearance of taking political advantage of the crisis.  The 
initial grace period has now come to an end and they will 
raise their complaints at the October 20 provincial assembly 
session.  Both opposition politicians and PML members have 
begun to criticize the lack of information and transparency 
in the collection and distribution of relief goods and 
donations.  They additionally criticized a perceived lack of 
concern from both federal and provincial leaders.  The 
continued absence of the Chief Minister is cited as the prime 
example.  Instead of being in the affected areas with the 
people, the leadership remains in Islamabad or, in the case 
of the Chief Minister, hosting fundraisers in Washington, DC. 
 One PML member noted that although Nawaz Sharif had major 
faults, during the flood in Punjab he was seen distributing 
goods to to the victims. She stated "This is not a people's 
government and it comes across at a time like this." 
 
Karachi 
------- 
 
7. (SBU) Karachi is taken with the call to help fellow 
Pakistanis in the earthquake zone.  Collection sites for 
relief goods have sprung up at schools, on military bases, 
near mosques and bus stations.  Karachi university students 
and others have lined up to give blood and appeals for 
monetary donations are plastered on bill boards and the sides 
of buildings.  Large amounts of money have reached NGO's such 
as the well respected Edhi Foundation.  Pakistan Navy Karachi 
Commander Vice Admiral Muhammad Asad Qureshi stated that each 
of Pakistan's armed services stationed in Karachi have 
"adopted" a zone in the earthquake effected area and plan to 
focus their individual attention in those particular areas. 
(Note:  It is unclear if this is an organized effort.  End 
note.)  All major local press was dock-side for the October 
18 arrival of the USS Pearl Harbor and off-loading of its 
humanitarian relief cargo, providing favorable coverage of 
this USG assistance.  In courtesy calls with the Pakistan 
Navy's District Commander, the Fleet Commander and the 
Karachi Port Trust, Pakistani hosts thanked the United States 
for assisting relief operations, saying that they would 
facilitate future port calls to the maximum extent possible. 
This warmth seems to be shared by many here in Karachi.  In 
full dress whites, our visiting US Navy officials received 
waves and smiles as they passed in a Pakistan Navy motorcade 
from call to call.  At one traffic intersection a group of 
covered women leaned out of the back of a taxi-bus to smile 
and wave.  Pakistani men on the side of the road nodded their 
heads in agreement. 
 
Balochistan 
----------- 
 
8. (SBU) In contrast to other parts of the country, sources 
in Balochistan report that business continues as usual in 
much of the province.  Collection points appear active only 
in Quetta and Pashtun areas in the north.  Baloch-audience 
papers reportedly returned to their normal news coverage at 
the end of last week.  According to one Baloch tribal leader, 
most Baloch view AJK and NWFP as totally outside their area 
of interest.  While tribal loyalty among Pashtuns compel 
sympathy with their NWFP compatriots, there is no prevailing 
sense of national tragedy in Baloch areas.  If anything, a 
certain amount of resentment prevails that a similarly 
massive national and international relief operation did not 
materialize when massive floods devestated parts of 
Balochistan earlier in the year. 
 
9. (C) Comment:  One-week after the earthquake, resentment 
over what the public views as slow and uncoordinated GOP 
relief operations continues to build.  President Musharraf 
remains above-the-fray, leaving the military and the Federal 
Relief Commission in the Prime Minister's Office (the 
designated execution coordination points for relief efforts) 
to bear the brunt of the criticism.  While the opposition 
hopes to use public anger over the GOP response to discredit 
the President, neither the childish name-calling at the 
October 14 National Assembly debate or its refusal to attend 
an October 18 FRC briefing held at the PM's Secretariat 
helped the opposition's cause.  The media is asking 
increasingly uncomfortable questions about the state's 
historic failures on disaster preparedness and tolerance of 
shoddy construction projects.  Those in the affected-areas 
remain skeptical of GOP-assistance, largely a factor of their 
current desperation and beyond the GOP's control.  We believe 
that as the situation stabilizes and reconstruction begins, 
the GOP retains the opportunity to rebuild its image with 
these parts of the population.  End Comment. 
CROCKER