PRT QAL-E-NOW: BADGHIS GOVERNOR SET TO PROFIT FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001571

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER EAID MARR AF
SUBJECT: PRT QAL-E-NOW: BADGHIS GOVERNOR SET TO PROFIT FROM
A GOOD OPIUM HARVEST

Classified By: POLCOUNS Sara Rosenberry for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (SBU) Summary: During an April visit to the
Badghis district of Murghab, PRToff was told by local
police that 80 percent of the district's poppy crop
had been eradicated. Personal observations, reports
from the Police Support Team (PST) Commander and other
PRT units strongly indicate that far from being an
eradication success story, Murghab stands to have a
bumper opium harvest in 2007. There are strong
indications that both the District Administrator and
the Provincial Governor are enriching themselves on
the opium trade, even as the Governor pockets money
from eradication efforts. End Summary.



2. (SBU) Unusually large amounts of rain in Badghis
Province have translated into bumper crops and happy
farmers. Unfortunately, in the northern districts of
Murghab and Ghormach this means larger than average
opium crops as well as wheat. On April 16, during a
PRT presence patrol to Murghab district, PRToff was
briefed by ANP Commander Abdul Amid on the province's
Governor-Led Eradication (GLE) program. Amid stated
proudly, although unconvincingly, that 80 percent of
the opium in Murghab had been eradicated leaving only
the 20 percent located in the more remote and
inaccessible parts of the province. (Note: UNODC
reports that GLE teams have eradicated only 16% of
last year's cultivation level. End Note.) He added
that the eradication teams had concluded their work in
Murghab and were now operating in neighboring Ghormach
district. The numbers quoted by Amid mirrored those
provided by Governor Mohammed Nasim on April 14 in the
Provincial Capital, but it soon became apparent that
these estimates were grossly inaccurate.


3. (SBU) PRToff traveled around the district capital
of Murghab for five days evaluating the delivery of
recent flood relief, and it was clear that every
village in the fertile environs circling Murghab city
is producing large amounts of poppy. Most farmers
have planted their poppy behind large mud walls or at
least 20 meters away from main roads, but many of
these fields are readily apparent from major roadways
and are located within 20 kilometers of the district
capital.


4. (C/NF) As part of the overall PRT presence mission
the Police Support Team (PST) was in Murghab at the
same time as PRToff and reported sighting large
amounts of poppy in both Murghab and Ghormach
districts during their joint patrolling missions with
the Afghan Highway Patrol (AHP). The PST Commander
arranged a meeting for PRToff with local AHP Commander
Haji Gulbudin (please protect) to discuss corruption
and poppy cultivation. Gulbudin is a rarity in the
Province in that he is widely seen by locals as honest
and uncorrupted. He also has the confidence of the
PST Commander. He opined that in reality less than 30
percent of the district's opium crop had been
eradicated and after the meeting had his men escort
the PRToff to a valley containing multiple poppy
fields located in an area "cleared" by the eradication
teams.


5. (C) Gulbudin asserts that the large poppy crop is
a direct result of government involvement in the opium
trade. He stated that District Administrator Haji
Seifoldin Homedi called all local village elders in
and offered them protection from eradication if they
paid him a portion of the proceeds. Gulbudin stressed
that a percentage of the money paid to Homedi was in
turn give to Nasim. When asked how he knew the
Governor received part of the proceeds Gulbudin
responded that "opium money was why he named his

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relative to the position of District Administrator."
Gulbudin also confided that during an April 18 shura
he was in a small room with Nasim and the district
administrators of Murghab and Ghormach when Nasim
asked both of them for the money they owed him for
their positions. Gulbudin stated that he was nearby
talking to another person but overheard the
conversation clearly. Reportedly Homedi responded
that the poppy crop was good so they would be able to
pay Nasim "soon."


6. (SBU) The PST Commander reported that Ghormach is
also "full of poppy." He also relayed that local
Kuchi families in Ghormach district report that ANP
officers out of uniform purchase poppy resin from them
and resell the product for twice as much at the
provincial bazaar. Local residents report that the
officers come out of uniform to make the purchases
because when they come in uniform it is to tell them
not to grow poppy.

MONEY FROM BOTH ENDS
--------------

7. (C) In an almost bizarre turn of events Nasim
appears to be attempting to increase his capital flow
from poppy eradication by passing fictitious expenses
on to local populations. After an armed attack on an
eradication team destroyed a tractor, Nasim demanded
that the village nearest the attack pay $15,000 USD in
damages. This is locally a contentious issue as
complaints over his repetition of this demand at the
April 18 Shura lead to his early closing of the event.
The owner of the tractor recently came to the PRT to
ask for compensation for his tractor. According to
the owner, he was forced by the ANP to rent his 3
tractors to the GOA and was compensated roughly half
the $120 per hectare the Governor stood to receive
according to the GLE reimbursement scheme. (NOTE:
This complaint, in itself, is not damning. GLE
reimbursements are intended for all governor expenses.
It does not necessarily mean that tractor rentals
command $120 per hectare of use. END NOTE) The
tractor's owner was dismayed that he had only received
$2,000 for his destroyed tractor that he valued at
over $16,000. Nasim had reportedly told him $2,000
was all he could pay him, but if he wanted more he
should see the PRT. All indications are that the
farmer has accepted his loss, which means Nasim stands
to pocket whatever he can extort from the local
village for the damaged tractor.

GOVERNOR'S CLAIMS NOT CREDIBLE
-------------- --------------


8. (C) While the Governor has claimed that
eradication has been a resounding success, the
Ministry of Interior is neither pleased with the pace
of eradication nor with the success of counter-
narcotic activities in Badghis province. Deputy
Interior Minister Daud wanted to send the centrally-
directed Afghan Eradication Force (AEF) to the
province in early May, but conflicts with planned ISAF
operations for the same time period and with other AEF
deployments made this plan untenable. UNODC's
reporting also calls into question the Governor's
claims. According to the UNODC, the governor's forces
have eradicated a total of 196 hectares in Murghab and
Ghormach districts, while last year the two districts
combined to cultivate 1658 hectares of poppy. UNODC's
Winter Assessment Survey predicted that poppy
cultivation would increase in each of these two
districts, and provincial claims of 80% eradication in
Murghab cannot be taken at face value.

COMMENT
--------------

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9. (C) Regardless of the final amount of confirmed
poppy eradication, it is difficult to imagine that
Badghis' cultivation level will drop this year.
Between the favorable weather and the strong
suggestion of political protection/involvement in
narcotics production, the conditions are ripe for
another strong harvest. Several sources stated that
Homedi, whom his relative Governor Nasim illegally
appointed to the district administration post, is
protecting crops, and this raises the possibility that
the governor, himself, may enjoy a substantial income
from the impending opium harvest.
WOOD