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Viewing cable 05KABUL5297, CORRECTED COPY: PRT JALALABAD: NEW NANGARHAR

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05KABUL5297 2005-12-31 06:13 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Kabul
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005297 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND 
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 
STATE PLEASE PASS USAID 
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
TREASURY FOR APARAMESWARAN 
 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SNAR AF
SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY: PRT JALALABAD: NEW NANGARHAR 
CHIEF OF POLICE APPOINTED 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary.  Governor Gul Agha Sherzai welcomed 
newly appointed Nangarhar Police Chief Basir Salangi at 
a special ceremony on December 27 attended by district 
chiefs of police, the Nangarhar chief justice, and 
other key judicial sector personnel.  Sherzai, who has 
been actively campaigning to keep Nangarhar free of 
opium poppies this year, called for an end to police 
bribery and illegal roadway tolls.  He also expressed 
pride in the changed political climate in Afghanistan 
which enables the national government to appoint 
officials regardless of ethnicity to positions around 
the nation without fearing ethnic violence 
(Salangi is a Tajik taking a leadership role in a 
primarily Pashtun region).  Salangi stated his 
priorities were fighting terrorism, counter-narcotics 
and eliminating bribery.  Despite the pledges, many in 
Nangarhar will be skeptical and suspect that Salangi's 
appointment is a continuation of politics as usual 
rather than a chance to launch reform as touted by 
Governor Gul Agha Sherzai.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) Salangi, who hails from Parwan Province, most 
recently served for about a half a year as chief of 
police in Wardak Province following his removal as 
chief of police in Kabul, where he had served a short 
term of about a half a year.  Salangi reportedly has no 
significant police training.  He reportedly belonged to 
the same Northern Alliance mujahideen faction as 
Minister of Defense Wardak.  Governor Sherzai, who is 
also a former mujahideen commander, cited Salangi's 
bravery and background as fine qualifications for 
service in Nangarhar. 
 
3.  (SBU) Salangi, a polished speaker, played well to 
the audience - starting by emphasizing support for the 
national government.  He then paid homage to fallen 
Pashtun national heroes Abdul Haq and Haji Qadir while 
noting his own status as a former mujahid.  He 
expressed thanks to the U.S.-led Coalition and the PRT 
for all they had done for the reconstruction of 
Afghanistan.   Finally, he pledged to fight terrorism, 
narcotics, and bribery, the last of which which he 
called "a significant threat to security." 
 
4.  (SBU) Outgoing Nangarhar Chief of Police Khalil 
Zaie (pronounced Zah ee), who reportedly will go to 
Faryab as chief of police, was not at the ceremony.  He 
left with a questionable local reputation after serving 
in Nangarhar only since July.  One district police 
chief as well as several police officials in Jalalabad 
told us that Zaie had put pressure on the district 
police chiefs to make substantial payments to him, 
resulting in 
a significant increase in extortion by the police at 
checkpoints 
stretching across Nangarhar from the border with 
Pakistan to the border with Kabul Province.  We have 
heard from other sources that police pressure on 
truckers and others for "taxes" increased significantly 
last summer. 
 
5.  (SBU) One disturbing development prior to the start 
of the ceremony, was the arrival of Wolesi Jirga 
(national parliament) member Hazrat Ali with two police 
vehicles donated by the PRT to the police.  On the side 
of the vehicles was the slogan "donated by the People 
of the United States of America to the People of 
Nangarhar."  Hazrat Ali, who was the chief of police 
prior to Zaie, supposedly was assigned these two 
vehicles for his protection prior to the September 18 
elections but was supposed to return them afterwards. 
Other parliamentary candidates 
complained to UNAMA during the lead-up to the elections 
that Ali was using the vehicles to intimidate them and 
voters.  Local police officials believe that the 
vehicles were "gifts" to Hazrat Ali from the Ministry 
of Interior.  Local sources tell us that Hazrat Ali was 
rather corrupt as a chief of police.  The PRT is 
working with our local MOI representative to obtain the 
return of these vehicles.  (Note: the rumored price for 
a position as chief of police in a potentially 
lucrative province such as Nangarhar is one or two 
Toyota Landcruisers or a monetary equivalent, i.e. $30 
to $50 thousand, even for someone with political 
connections.  This might lead a cynic to wonder whether 
the two vehicles "given" to Hazrat Ali by the MOI were 
a "refund" since he was not appointed to another 
position as chief of police.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
6.  (SBU) While we are not in possession of proof that 
allegations about Zaie's extortion activities are true, 
his arrival in Nangarhar did coincide with the slowdown 
in fuel shipments to Kabul and Bagram last summer which 
had serious national security implications.   At that 
time, a significant number of petroleum truck drivers 
sat at the Pakistan side of the border at Torkham, 
refusing to drive into Afghanistan on the grounds that 
the police payoffs had risen so high that they could 
not make any money on their deliveries.  Coalition 
forces had to escort them to Kabul and Bagram to break 
the stalemate and end the fuel shortage that was 
shutting down firms and stopping air line flights. 
Several of 
our contacts have expressed concern in recent weeks 
that President 
Karzai is continuing his practice of re-appointing 
corrupt officials rather than replacing them with more 
capable men with better qualifications; Zaie's transfer 
to Faryab will be seen as confirmation of that concern. 
 
7.  (SBU) It is obviously too soon to judge Salangi. 
While he has made a good initial impression here, his 
two short stints as chief of police in Kabul and Wardak 
raise questions about why he was transferred so soon 
from those positions.  Governor Sherzai, despite his 
problematic record in Kandahar, is proving to be a 
reform-oriented politician with considerable drive and 
charisma.  While they both hit the same themes in their 
speeches, it is also not yet clear whether Sherzai will 
be able to work effectively with Salangi.  End comment. 
 
NEUMANN