CORRECTED COPY: PRT JALALABAD: NEW NANGARHAR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005297

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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