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

• The Muslim holy month of Muharram combined with protests over cartoons of the prophet Mohammed published in some European newspapers are still providing for a tense security situation in Pakistan.

• The Ashura processions took place in relative calm over the affected area, however the unrest appears to be spreading.

• Violent demonstrations have taken place, especially in Karachi and Peshawar. Western franchises were attacked and several people have been killed during riots.
• In Islamabad, a crowd managed to breach the diplomatic enclave and smashed the windows of the bank before security forces regained control.
• All international staff working in the hubs have been subject to movement restrictions and security warnings over the last week and a half. This has considerably slowed daily operations.
• Strikes have been taking place across the country and more are planned for the days to come. Agency and NGO workers remain advised to pay close attention to their personal security.
• The Pakistan Military is maintaining reinforced security throughout the affected area.
  

Batagram

• Movement restrictions have been periodically applied in the Batagram area, however there have been no reports of security incidents in Batagram, Bana and Besham.
• The evacuation of international staff from this area has been deemed unnecessary.
  

Mansehra

• A no-movement curfew was enforced for all international staff on Wednesday February 15th. One demonstration took place in Mansehra. It was without incident.
• On Thursday February 16th a police escort was required to travel in Mansehra city and on the main road to Abbottabad. 
• A large protest is expected today (Friday, February 17th) in the Mansehra district and staff are once again confined to their home base.
  

Muzaffarabad

• Movement restrictions have been periodically enforced in and around Muzaffarabad, but the local situation has remained fairly calm.
  

2.    AIR OPERATIONS

General

• Cargo and passenger flights were cancelled on February 14th and 15th due to bad weather and the security situation.
• 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 soon.
  
• Drastic and immediate cuts will also be made to the UNHAS cargo fleet. The contracts of two Mi-8s and one Mi-26 have already been cancelled.
• Further reductions will be announced shortly and a substantial drop in UNHAS activity can be expected over the next month. 
• The four DFID Mi-8s currently tasked by UNHAS will remain until May 1st.
• The two Australian Blackhawks and two German Stallions also tasked by UNHAS are expected to stay until the end of their mandate.
  
• The US Military is planning to cut its fleet of 12 Chinooks down to 8, with new aircraft being brought in to replace those currently in operation.
• As of March 1st, ICRC will reduce its fleet from 8 helicopters to 1 or 2 and move its operation entirely to Muzaffarabad.
  
• The US Military are preparing for the handover of their Muzaffarabad fuel farm and are training Pakistan Military staff in operational procedures. The transition process will be complete by the end of February.
• The US Military fuel farm at Shinkiari will be closed down next week.
  


3.    CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION


• Vehicles imported by UN agencies for the relief effort are processed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will certify the exemption certificate to be used for tax free entry.
• Despite multiple requests to Pakistani officials, UNJLC is still waiting for clarification on the procedure for International NGOs to obtain the equivalent tax free entry.
  


4.    INFRASTRUCTURE AND STATIC ROAD ASSESSMENT

General


• UNJLC has collected GPS tracks for approximately 2000 km of roads in the affected area.
• For maps and detailed road assessments go to www.unjlc.org/pakistan.
  

Bagh


• A member of the UNJLC GIS team was in Bagh this week to train UNDSS staff in the collection of GPS road data as part of an ongoing project to improve the accuracy of affected area maps.

5.    LOGISTICS

General


• As mentioned above, movement restrictions due to the security situation have severely hampered operations over the last week and a half.

Mansehra


• Most of the current planning underway is for the return and recovery phase of the operation. This is expected to begin on March 31st.
• All meetings were cancelled in Mansehra this week due to the security situation.
  

6.    CIVIL-MILITARY LOGS

Nothing further to report.

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 1st of February has been released alongside the tonnage projection for road and air for February. 
• 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.
  

9. ROAD STATUS

General


• Click here for the latest road updates and maps.

Batagram


• The Thakot to Bana road is considered dangerous and is Red-No-Go to agencies and NGOs.

Mansehra


• The road past the Ghanol bridge on the Balakot to Kaghan road has been blocked once again by landslides.

Muzaffarabad


• Certain routes in the Muzaffarabad region are also cut off by landslides caused by the recent heavy rain.

10. WAREHOUSING

General


• For the available summary of warehouse capacity, location maps and contacts, go to http://www.unjlc.org/pakistan/warehousing/.

11. COMMODITY AVAILABILITY


• For details of suppliers in the affected area see the UNJLC yellow pages at http://www.unjlc.org/pakistan/infosheets/log_info/yellow_pages.

12. OTHER INFORMATION

Bagh
UN staff accommodation in Bagh is often full and restricted to agencies. When space is not available, a list of Bagh hotels has been supplied. Please note that no assessment has been made of the structural integrity of these buildings.

All Noor 058720 42282
Paradise Hotel 058720 42372
Pak Kashmir Hotel 058720 42349
Bagh International Hotel 058720 42604
Al Shabaz Hotel 058720 42174
Deewan-e-aziz 058720 43209

For further information contact pakistan.infoteam@unjlc.org.