Summary
Content
CONSOLIDATED WEEKLY SITREP
1. Security
2. Air Operations
3. Immigration and Customs
4. Infrastructure and Static Road Assessment
5. Logistics Coordination
6. Civil Military Logs
7. Fuel
8. NFI Pipeline
9. Road Status
10. Warehousing
11. Commodity Availability
12. Other Information
1. SECURITY
General
- Pakistan continues to experience protests and strikes over cartoons of the prophet Mohammed which were published in many newspapers across Europe.
- No-movement restrictions have been repeatedly enforced over the last week, in particular on February 17th, 19th and 24th, severely restricting the ability of UNJLC field officers to operate.
- The situation is likely to continue over the coming week, building up to a country-wide strike planned for March 3rd to coincide with the arrival of President Bush.
- Large parts of Islamabad will be closed to traffic over the presidential visit and movement in and out of the city is likely to be severely restricted.
- The Pakistan Military is maintaining reinforced security throughout the affected area.
- UNHAS flights were stopped early on February 24th for security reasons.
Bagh
- Demonstrations were held on February 17th and 19th, however the security situation has remained relatively calm.
- UNDSS Bagh are working on a Security Contact Tree and general evacuation plan in case of emergency.
- This plan cannot be finalized without information from UNDSS Islamabad, which has not yet been provided.
- UNDSS Islamabad has refused a request for representation at Islamabad Log's Cluster Meetings on the grounds of lack of available staff and time.
- The direct road from Rawalakot to Islamabad remains closed to internationals by order of the Pakistan Military.
- UNJLC and other agencies have requested this be opened as a contingency route out of Bagh should the main roads get cut off by bad weather or security constraints.
- The UNOPS operation to clear the Lasdanna to Haji Pir road was halted by the local Pakistan Military Security Officer, who prohibited any movement through to Lasdanna.
- This mission was formerly approved by the Pakistan Military and Civil Authorities, and the Pakistan Military had provided security for the mission.
- UNDSS is discussing the issue with the Pakistan Military.
Batagram
- A peaceful protest took place on Friday, February 17th. Approximately 400 people were in attendance.
- The local Pakistan Military are discouraging internationals from any travel. When this is unavoidable, it is encouraged to use an escort for all movement outside Batagram.
- Air travel is considered preferable.
- All movement is discouraged on March 3rd.
Mansehra
- The no-movement curfew has been lifted in and around Mansehra.
- The Pakistan Military are not expecting further demonstrations, but police escorts will still be required over the next ten days, including on the road to Islamabad.
Muzaffarabad
- A small protest was held on Saturday February 18th. Movement for UN staff members was restricted during this time but no incidents were reported.
- Muzaffarabad was locked down for the day on Friday, February 24th due to demonstrations.
- The Pakistan Military gave a security briefing on Friday, February 17th.
- They feel the situation is under control and see no current need to suspend operations.
- On February 23rd a UN vehicle was involved in a fatal accident. The Jhelum Valley road has been closed to UN staff until assessments can be completed.
2. AIR OPERATIONS
General
- Due to a funding shortfall, as of February 18th, passenger flights will no longer run on weekends and changes have been made to the weekday schedule. For the revised schedule up to February 28th click here -->
- Further alterations to the passenger service can be expected as of March 1st.
- Immediate cuts are also being made to the UNHAS cargo fleet. The contracts of two Mi-8s and one Mi-26 have already been cancelled. A revised plan for air operations has been submitted to take the operation through until the end of August.
- This proposal involves a reduced fleet of 12 aircraft (9 Mi-8s, 1 Mi-26 and 2 Kamov 32s) for a total capacity of 160 tonnes per day.
- One Mi-8 will be stationed in Islamabad for special request flights and security/medical evacuations.
- As of June 1st, the fleet will be further reduced to a capacity of 120 tonnes per day.
- The plan remains subject to approval.
- Aircraft will no longer fly more than 80 hours per month. This means that flights until March 1st will be reduced since many aircraft have already reached this limit.
- The US Military has cut its fleet of 12 Chinooks down to 8.
- The US Military fuel farm at Shinkiari has now been closed down.
- Six flying days have been lost so far this last month due to bad weather and the security situation.
Batagram
- Air Operations were severely restricted on February 18th and 19th due to bad weather. Flights returned to normal on Monday, February 20th.
- The Chatterplain to Manda Gucha via Shinkiari route in the Siran Valley has been assessed and is considered accessible to 3-4 MT trucks (though only 4WD in case of rain).
- UNHAS has been informed that in times of fair weather, air cargo transport should replaced by road transport to this area.
Mansehra
- Helicopters stationed close to the road in Abbottobad have been relocated to the stadium behind the UN staff camp for security reasons.
Muzaffarabad
- Helicopter operations were limited on Saturday, February 18th and suspended on Sunday, February 19th due to bad weather.
- Further interruptions due to weather continued through the week.
3. CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION
Nothing further to report
4. INFRASTRUCTURE AND STATIC ROAD ASSESSMENT
General
- UNJLC is working on a detailed survey of roads in the affected area to address routes which have thus far been primarily supported by air. This is intended to assist with the impending shift to road transport as cargo flights decrease.
- Data on landslides and flooding hazards is also being gathered and combined with existing analyses. This will enable UNJLC to provide a map of areas where roads and camps may be prone to these hazards.
- Click here for maps -->
and detailed road assessments -->
Bagh
- Most of the major routes around Bagh have now been tracked for GPS points and road conditions. A concentrated push is now underway to assess the smaller roads.
Batagram
- An assessment has been conducted of the road from Battel through Saccha Kalan to Jachcha. It is considered unsuitable for any vehicles except 4WD and landslides are a risk leading up to Jachacha. The last 1 km is unpassable.
- The road from Saccha Kalan to Shinkiari has been assessed and is deemed suitable for mid-sized trucks.
Muzaffarabad
- The routes from Ghari Duphatta to Gulian and Kohala to Muzaffarabad have been assessed as part of UNJLC's ongoing road survey.
5. LOGISTICS
General
- The HIC is conducting an assessment of estimated migration from camps once the return begins. UNJLC will be providing mapping resources to facilitate return planning and to identify potential bottlenecks resulting from changes in relief cargo distribution patterns.
Bagh
- The new Head of the Bagh Logistics Cluster is Ahmad Al Assad, WFP. Email: ahmad.alassad@wfp.org.
- Restricted access to the Rawalakot to Islamabad road is a cause of concern to agencies and NGOs since use of the longer route through Bagh is hampering efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Batagram
- The bottleneck at Chatterplain caused by large quantities of CGI sheeting brought in without adequate warehousing preparations is being resolved.
- A distribution plan has been provided for the majority of the goods and forward movement is underway.
- The logistical needs for the return and recovery phase of the operation are being assessed by local agencies and NGOs.
- Helicopter efficiency has become a key focus and assessments are underway to ensure that no cargo flights are being booked to road accessible areas.
- UNHCR has supplied village origin data for people in 4 of the 5 Batagram and Kohistan District IDP camps to aid in the estimated migration assessment currently underway.
Muzaffarabad
- Certain agencies appear to be unaware of the cargo movement procedure managed by UNJLC. This service was established to coordinate the free transport of relief goods provided by UNHAS, Atlas and IOM.
- UNJLC is taking steps to promote attendance at local Logs Cluster meetings and ensure that logistics information from Islamabad is given wider distribution.
6. CIVIL-MILITARY LOGS
General
- The Pakistan Military and Police are making escorts available for all UN and NGO staff traveling across the affected area. It is recommended that this service be used as a precautionary measure until the security situation calms down.
7. FUEL
Nothing further to report
8. NFI PIPELINE
General
- UNJLC is using the LSS data on pipeline and historical distribution data to make projections of tonnages by air and road cargo required.
- The updated incoming on-order data to the 21st of February has been released alongside the stock balance and cumulative distribution data as of January 31st.
- To date there has been a very poor response to requests for January pipeline data for donor and planning purposes. The UNJLC cargo movement request program will prioritise cargo transport in favour of those agencies and NGOs who have provided their pipeline information to assist in forward planning.
- UNJLC is currently mapping relief distribution based on LSS pipeline data to identify high-volume and high-tonnage items and their distribution pattern by Tehsil.
- This project will also assist in the transition from air to primarily road cargo transport by identifying priority areas.
- The UNJLC cargo coordination cell has reported a backlog of 780 MT of NFI (mainly CGI sheeting) in Abbottabad, Muzaffarabad and Chatterplain. This is largely due to the slowdown in operations because of bad weather and the security situation.
9. ROAD STATUS
General
Bagh
- The recent rain has not had a significant impact on road access.
- As of February 24th, all of the major routes are open except for Dhulli to Rakot, where an old landslide is still blocking the final section of the road.
Batagram
- The recent rains have caused many landslides in the area which have blocked some of the Allai Valley routes as well as temporarily cutting off parts of the KKH.
- Due to road conditions, the Thakot to Bana road has been closed to UN staff. Cargo transport along this route has now begun again and travel for internationals is expected to be reauthorized shortly.
Muzaffarabad
- Bad weather over the weekend of February 18th and 19th caused numerous road closures due to landslides and snow.
- UNDSS have advised that the route from Gulian to Ghari Duphatta should only be used in case of emergency.
10. WAREHOUSING
General
- For the latest summary of warehouse capacity, location maps and contacts, click here -->
Bagh
- WFP has established additional Bagh district temporary warehouses for NRSP, ARC and IOM.
Batagram
- The Chatterplain warehouses are still at capacity.
- UNJLC is trying to coordinate all incoming stock to this site for immediate onward transport.
11. COMMODITY AVAILABILITY
- For details of suppliers in the affected area see the UNJLC yellow pages.
12. OTHER INFORMATION
Bagh
- 3640 shelters remain to be built in Poonch, with emphasis moving towards reconstruction.
- The latest information maintains that there are no spontaneous camps in the Poonch area.
Mansehra
- UNDSS have assessed and approved two local hotels for agency staff accommodation:
Karakuram Hotel & Restaurant (Pvt) Ltd.
Silk Highway
Mansehra
Phone: 0987 302539/302163/303164
Fax: 0987 303165Lala Zar
Ghazi Kot Town Mansehra House
#125 sector A
Mansehra
Phone: 0997 303125/303138
Mobile: 0304 5011332
For further information contact pakistan.infoteam@unjlc.org.