QALAT VISIT: FOCUS ON SECURITY, POLICE, AND ROADS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000838 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A, EUR/RPM, EUR/UBI NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND CENTCOM FOR POLAD REL NATO/ISAF/AS/NZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2015 TAGS: SNAR PGOV EAID PREL AF SUBJECT: QALAT VISIT: FOCUS ON SECURITY, POLICE, AND ROADS REF: KABUL 662 Classified By: AMBASSADOR RONALD NEUMANN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador Neumann traveled to Qalat, Zabol Province, on February 12 where he met with the Governor, Chief of Police, and local leaders. Discussion focused on security and development. Governor Arman emphasized the need for road building as an engine for improving both security and economic reconstruction. He said that road infrastructure had to be built first, and the rest would follow - if he had to make tradeoffs, roads would always win out. Civic leaders echoed the Governor,s sentiment, while also emphasizing the need to support education, especially by recruiting teachers and paying them sufficient salary. They also noted that a 144-bed hospital built by the UAE is standing empty due to lack of medical personnel. ¶2. (SBU) Governor Arman and his security advisors argued the need for increased police presence, especially in the border areas. He said that the GOA has made some changes in improving police leadership, particularly in replacing the Border Police chief, but it is waiting for additional support from the MoI. Under the Provincial Security Assessment project (PSA ) see reftel),the central government promised to enhance the provincial police in Zabol with additions to both personnel and equipment; Arman said none of that has yet materialized. In response to the Ambassador,s questions, Chief of Police Nabi explained that only 300 of the 700 police in the province have been through the Regional Training Center course in Kandahar; he has requested that the number of Zabol candidates per class be increased. Nabi said that the course has had very positive results ) patrolmen who have been through it are much more professional than those who have not. Governor Arman added that follow up is also needed ) he would like to see mobile training teams get out to the districts to continue improving the quality of police. ¶3. (SBU) However given the limitation on the number of police actually trained, Police Chief Nabi said that he has appointed 1,200 additional patrolmen outside the ANP structure, who are being paid out of the provincial operating budget. Governor Arman said this additional force is needed particularly because of troubles arising from the shared border with Pakistan. The Zabol elders argued that were it not for the border, they would not have a security problem. (Note: In the anti-cartoon disturbances earlier this month, Zabol provincial police arrested six Pakistanis whom they claimed had instigated the riots. Local contacts have told PRT officers that there is a large transient Pakistani population in Qalat working as laborers who are fomenting anti- Western sentiment.) Comment -------------- ¶4. (C) The open reliance on quasi-militia police forces separate from the ANP is a troubling sign that we are starting to see elsewhere and will be following up on. Not only does it contravene the principles underlying the DIAG process, it has the KABUL 00000838 002 OF 002 potential of spinning out of central government control. At the same time, however, the growing need to fill the security vacuum in some parts of the country before ANA and ANP come fully on line is pressing increasingly on popular sentiments. This is being reflected back in a variety of conversations. ¶5. (SBU) Regarding reconstruction and road-building, the demands of the provincial and tribal leadership were nothing new. Ambassador make clear the need for Afghans as well as USG to prioritize projects and recognize that the pot of money is not bottomless. Despite the completion of a number of successful PRT projects using USAID and military (CERP) funds, some civic leaders complained that they have seen no real reconstruction benefit. It is to be hoped that as more projects come on line, that perception will change. NEUMANN