KUNAR GOV DEEDAR MEETS WITH AMBASSADOR TO DISCUSS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 005676

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016
TAGS: ASEC MARR PGOV PREL PTER AF
SUBJECT: KUNAR GOV DEEDAR MEETS WITH AMBASSADOR TO DISCUSS
COOPERATION WITH ISAF AND CONFLICT WITH HIS POLICE CHIEF

REF: A. STATE 5008

B. STATE 5250

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Ronald Neumann for reasons 1.4
(B) and (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C/NF) Governor DEEDAR Shahlizay of Kunar Province met
with the Ambassador on October 31 at the Embassy, and
reviewed his efforts to improve security in Kunar and his
ideas for spurring economic growth in the province.
Deedar,s main complaint was of interference by the Ministry
of Interior (MOI) in his administration, specifically that
MOI has foisted an ineffective Police Chief on him and will
not allow him to select or remove District Sub-Governors. On
the positive side, Deedar explained his efforts to work with
ISAF on security, his views on how to secure the border with
Pakistan through engagement with tribes which straddle the
border, and his efforts to bring security within Kunar by
isolating the Korengal Valley. He also asked for U.S.
support for the construction of a hydroelectric dam and wood
processing factory in Kunar. Deedar has been in office since
mid-August. He has established a close working relationship
with the PRT and made a favorable impression. This is due on
part simply because Deedar is more engaged with us, the UN,
and with the people and politics of Kunar than was his
predecessor, Governor Wafa. Whether Deedar will prove
effective in the long run remains to be seen, but he appears
to be trying to address economic and security issues here.
End Summary.

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Lobbying the Ambassador and Stressing Security/Cooperation
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2. (C/NF) The Governor used his October 31 meeting with the
Ambassador at the Embassy to outline his political efforts in
Kunar. He underlined that he was working with the PRT to
engage with tribal leaders to get their support for PRT and
GOA development and security efforts. The Governor said that
the PRT,s outreach efforts to support mosques and religious
leaders during Ramadan had helped counter enemy propaganda
that ISAF and the GOA were anti-Islamic. Deedar said that
the key to border security was gaining the support of tribes
which lived on both sides of the border. The leaders of
cross-border tribes in Kunar agreed with the Governor that if
they had the authority and power to ensure security, they
were up to the task. Ambassador Neumann asked if these
tribal leaders, enthusiasm for taking up security
responsibilities was stimulated by the Musa Qala agreement.
Deedar said no, adding that Kunar tribal leaders were not
seeking the withdrawal of foreign forces. He said engagement
from the side of the Pakistani Government with these same
tribes would be necessary to ensure security along the
border.


3. (C/NF) The Governor and the Ambassador discussed the
security problems in the Korengal valley. Deedar explained
the need to maintain sanctions on the valley following recent
attacks on employees of the ANA/ISAF Korengal Outpost (Ref
B). He noted that elders in the Korengal had signed
agreements with the GOA not to allow attacks on ASF/ISAF, and
had repeatedly broken their agreements. The Governor said he
had the agreement of Safi tribal elders in Pech District
(which encompasses the Korengal Valley) to clamp down on the
activity of militants in the area and to help maintain
sanctions on the Korengal Valley. The Ambassador emphasized
that security operations needed to be conducted by legitimate
government forces, and not through informal or illegal
groups.


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Looking for Economic Help
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4. (C/NF) Deedar then raised the economic needs of Kunar,
telling the Ambassador that wood was the main resource for
the province and that Kunar needed a wood processing factory
to allow locals to benefit from this resource. The
Ambassador noted that the GOA,s plan to buy up large stocks
of wood in Kunar and sell them to three designated
contractors seemed designed to benefit only these few
contractors, and might find little popular support in Kunar
(Ref A). Deedar agreed that the timber buy up plan was a
problem, and suggested that President Karzai should
reconsider his decision to implement this plan. The Governor
also spoke of his hope that a hydroelectric dam might be
built on the Kunar River, noting that this project had been
discussed and studied by various parties for decades. He
said that if Kunar,s status as a Tier 3 province within the
Afghan government system could be upgraded to Tier 2, a step
which was in process in the Ministry of Interior, then the
GOA might be able to divert more resources to Kunar and make
the dam project possible. He asked for the Ambassador,s
support for a dam in Kunar.

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Removing the Police Chief
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5. (C/NF) Deedar pressed for support in his effort to have
Provincial Police Chief General Jalal removed. Deedar said
he needed a professional chief of police who would focus on
security in the province, rather than engaging in corrupt
activities. He said he had been told by President Karzai
that the Deputy Minister of Interior would soon remove Jalal,
but Deedar wanted the Ambassador,s support to make sure this
happened. The Ambassador remarked that the previous ANP
chief in Kunar had also been a problem, and that finding good
police chiefs was difficult. He asked whether Deedar had any
specific candidates in mind to replace Jalal; Deedar said he
did not have any candidate in mind; he just needed a good
officer. He added that he could, if asked, think of someone
suitable. Deedar noted that Jalal was an ethnic Tajik
serving in a Pashtun area, and that he did not want his
removal to appear to be an act of ethnic discrimination. The
Ambassador said that he would take an interest in this
matter, but also cautioned that he wished to respect GOA
authority on government appointments, noting that he
sometimes asked for a particular official to be removed, but
would not specify or support a particular candidate for a
particular position.

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Background on Deedar-MOI/Police Tensions
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6. (C/NF) Deedar has complained many times to the PRT about
ANP Chief General Jalal, accusing him of corruption, and
specifically of being more concerned with timber smuggling
than with provincial security. The PRT has also heard
reports that Jalal trying to extort money from security
companies which guard our road construction projects. Jalal
has thwarted attempts to investigate insurgent attacks, and
is reportedly not respected by his senior officers ) though
that may be in part because he is a Tajik serving in a
Pashtun area. Governor Deedar said that Interior Minister
Zarar had faced political pressure to support Jalal, who
previously had been a bodyguard for Burhanuddin Rabbani.
According to Deedar, Jalal enjoys the protection of Deputy
Interior Minister Nuristani. Deedar told the PRT that he
suspects the support for Jalal was to some degree driven by a
desire to reduce Pashtun influence in the administration of
Kunar Province.


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7. (C/NF) Deedar has also spoken several times of his low
regard for the security services in Kunar generally,
complaining that there is little cooperation on security, but
significant involvement in smuggling. Deedar has also
complained about Jalal,s appointments of subordinates,
noting the case of Kunar,s Quick Reaction Force Commander,
whom he described as a well-trained, knowledgeable, and
active officer. Jalal is reportedly maneuvering to have him
removed, and replaced with a non-professional who "can barely
salute8 and does not know the law.


8. (C/NF) Deedar,s unhappiness with Jalal is known in Kabul.
In late October Minister Zarar called Deedar and urged that
the Governor &go easy8 on Jalal. According to the
Governor, the exchange was strained by his own sarcastic
reply. The Governor,s problems with his ANP Chief are part
of a larger conflict with the Ministry of Interior over
control of senior appointments in Kunar. District Governors
are a case in point. Deedar recently fired the District
Governors for Ghaziabad, Chapa Dara, and Naray, and had the
Governors of Asmar and Narang Districts trade places. He
said he had acted after receiving numerous evidence of these
men,s corruption. The MOI then reportedly ordered at least
one of these moves to be reversed, and may reverse all of
them.

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Deedar's Overall Performance
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9. (C/NF) Security Cooperation: Deedar has shown he wants to
work with the PRT on security problems, including supporting
the PRT/ISAF when ISAF actions have unintended consequences
or when there is unavoidable fallout from a detention or
kinetic operation. He works closely with the PRT on public
affairs messages to limit damage from such incidents, and to
support ISAF and ANSF efforts. The PRT has been with the
Governor on visits to districts which have seen insurgent
attacks, where Deedar has strongly urged the local elders to
side with the GOA and not allow insurgents to pass through
their territory. His message made not always have been
effective, but he has demonstrated his willingness to
confront the elders of areas that have harbored insurgents.


10. (C/NF) Development: The Governor has shown interest in
economic development and reconstruction issues in Kunar, but
has not shown the focus to match his enthusiasm. He seeks
support for projects, but has not shown an ability to move
things forward. Rather than take a long-term approach, he
haphazardly changes his reconstruction project priorities,
making it difficult to work with him. The PRT has instituted
a mentoring process, encouraging him to focus on the budget
cycle and project lead times.


11. (C/NF) Trouble Signs: Deedar has a relationship with the
old warlords of Kunar, who during the Wafa administration
were nowhere to be seen. Malik Zarin has returned to Kunar,
after a long period in Kabul, and has emerged as one of the
contractors who will make millions from the GOA-supervised
sale of Kunar,s timber (Ref A). Kunar,s other leading
warlord, Haji Jon Dod, showed up at a meeting with the
Governor in Chowkay on October 7.

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Comment
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12. (C/NF) Overall the Governor seems to be making an effort
to distinguish himself from his predecessor, by getting out
of his compound and meeting with the people of Kunar to
personally discuss with them security and economic problems.
He is a forceful speaker, and confronts his constituents with
the contradiction between their desire for development money
and their frequent unwillingness to help with security by

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cooperating with U.S. and Afghan forces. It is not clear
whether his message always gets across, but the Governor is a
far cry from his compound- or Kabul-bound predecessor.


13. (C/NF) PRT Comment Continued: Deedar,s complaints about
Jalal are familiar and credible. While General Jalal may be
no more or less corrupt than other officials, the weight of
evidence is that he is, at best, an ineffective leader of the
police in Kunar. This hinders ANP cooperation with the
Governor. The PRT,s concerns about General Jalal go even
further. He has undermined U.S. operations. The General has
given out false and inflammatory information about kinetic
operations, including during the sensitive Bar Shultan
incident in August 2006, where Jalal claimed to local radio
station that U.S. air strikes had targeted civilians in the
area of the operation. And after an accident with a U.S.
Army mortar killed three civilians in October, Jalal told
radio news in Kunar that the mortar was firing unnecessarily,
when, in fact, it was firing at an enemy position. Jalal
also occasionally publicly denounces American forces for
conducting operations based on &false information.8 End
Comment.


14. (C/NF) Embassy Comment: Jalal's inept and inflammatory
handling of sensitive coalition activities would justify
supporting Deedar efforts to get him removed, and, in any
case, we are impressed by Deedar's apparent effort to gain
control and draw resources to the province. He is setting
himself apart not just from his predecessor, but also from
his own record, which includes having been one of the few
parliamentary candidates who was actually disqualified by the
Election Commission/UNAMA. His more recent involvement in
questionable dealing relating to Konar's timber assets also
invites caution (Ref A). That record may in fact be a
motivating factor in his efforts to establish credibility as
a governor that deserves to stay in his job. End Embassy
Comment.
NEUMANN