US embassy cable - 05ISLAMABAD15959

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 015959 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2015 
TAGS: AEMR, ASEC, EAID, MASS, PGOV, PREL, PK, Earthquake 
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: KASHMIRI GOVERNMENT VIEWED AS 
INEFFECTIVE IN EARTHQUAKE CRISIS 
 
Classified By: Derived from DSCG 05-01, b and d 
 
1. (C) Summary:  The autonomous Government of Azad Jammu 
Kashmir (GAJK) has played virtually no role in earthquake 
relief.  Its bureaucracy was devastated along with the 
capital of Muzzafarabad, while its political leadership (most 
of which was in Islamabad at the time of the earthquake) has 
been roundly criticized for a non-existent performance. 
Senior Kashmiri politicians are involved in individual relief 
activities and well-publicized tours of disaster areas, but 
have not wanted to be linked with GOP-relief efforts that 
many Kashmiris view as inadequate.  Recognizing that their 
political fortunes are inextricably linked to continued GOP 
support, most Kashmiri politicians have been silent on GOP 
relief efforts.  Several prominent Kashmiris have privately 
cautioned against any involvement by the GAJK or its 
bureaucrats in reconstruction efforts, citing widespread 
corruption in previous development projects.  Instead, they 
believe that coordination should be done through local 
community councils and legitimate Kashmiri politicians (read 
Muslim Conference (MC) and All Parties Huriyat Conference 
(APHC)).  End Summary. 
 
2. (C) To date, the GAJK has played a minimal role in relief 
efforts.  Its bureaucracy, mostly based in Muzzafarabad, was 
decimated by the earthquake, leaving many employees dead, 
injured, mourning family members, or homeless.  Although 
there were some stories of amazing efforts on the part of 
individual AJK civil servants, government generally was 
absent in the quake's immediate aftermath.  When authority 
was reestablished, it was largely by the military, which 
remains in effective control in the affected areas with some 
support from federal civil servants imported from other parts 
of the country.  Many Kashmiri civil society activists 
actually welcomed the GAJK bureaucracy's absence from relief 
efforts, noting its tendencies towards corruption and inept 
management. 
 
3. (C) The political leadership of the GAJK was largely 
outside of Muzzafarabad at the time of the earthquake. 
(Note:  Most senior Kashmiri politicians divide their time 
between Muzzafarabad and Islamabad, spending the majority in 
the federal capital.  End Note).  Many, like the AJK Prime 
Minister, returned to Muzzafarabad within 48-hours of the 
earthquake, generally with television crews and journalists 
in tow.  While all have spent a great deal of time touring 
the affected areas and raising funds, none have taken an 
active role in the coordination of relief or long-term 
planning for reconstruction.  Even erstwhile political allies 
have criticized the AJK Prime Minister and his cabinet for 
being largely absent from disaster management activities and 
allowing the federal bureaucracy to take the lead.  Following 
long-standing practice, the Federal Relief Commission has 
coordinated central government efforts with minimal GAJK 
involvement. 
 
4. (C) Kashmiri politicians have for the most part chosen to 
absent themselves from formal GOP relief efforts.  Instead, 
they and their respective political parties have been 
independently raising and distributing funds and donations to 
earthquake victims.  Those that we have spoken with since the 
disaster, largely from the MC and the APHC, claim privately 
that many Kashmiris remain resentful of what they view as 
inadequate central government assistance.  Even so, with the 
exception of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (a 
pro-independence party with few ties to the GOP), Kashmiri 
leaders have been largely silent on GOP-relief efforts. 
Comment:  This likely reflects the historical reality that 
politicians in AJK are largely dependent on the GOP for their 
political viability.  End Comment. 
 
5. (C) All interlocutors agree that the Kashmiri people must 
be actively involved in reconstruction.  There is a 
high-level of skepticism, however, that the GAJK is suited to 
administer, or even play an active role, in such efforts. 
The GAJK is widely-viewed as corrupt, incompetent, and 
illegitimate.  One long-time civil society activist claimed 
that nearly 65 percent of development projects previously 
launched by the GAJK were never carried out, despite funds 
being spent.  Others report that senior GAJK officials and 
their family members, including the Prime Minister, have 
already established new "construction companies" in the hope 
of obtaining a portion of reconstruction funds.  The JKLF is 
advocating that Jamaat-ud-Dawa (the parent organization of 
designated foreign terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyaba) 
be taken seriously as a reconstruction partner.  Senior APHC 
and MC figures have publicly and privately suggested that 
reconstruction is best coordinated through local community 
councils (appointed advisory bodies established throughout 
the area that substitute for local elected government) and 
that "legitimate" Kashmiri parties (i.e. MC and APHC) should 
be invited to participate in federal reconstruction bodies. 
 
6. (C) Comment:  The earthquake has swept away even the 
nominal fiction of an autonomous GAJK.  The paralysis of both 
its bureaucracy and political leadership during this crisis 
has made federal intervention essential.  As focus shifts 
from immediate relief to reconstruction, it will become 
increasingly important for Kashmiris to be involved in 
planning and execution.  While coordination through the GAJK 
would be the simplest route logistically, post believes that 
its poor development track record disqualifies the GAJK as a 
credible implementing partner.  The GOP, will need to find 
ways to involve local communities, perhaps through community 
councils and political parties, directly in reconstruction, 
as a corollary to more robust discussions with the GAJK 
leadership.  End Comment. 
CROCKER