Paktika - Governor Katawazay Addresses Security,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001309

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TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM AF

SUBJECT: Paktika - Governor Katawazay Addresses Security,
Development and Tribal Dispute in Gayan District

Summary
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1. (SBU) On May 17, PRT Paktika (Sharana) facilitated a visit by
Governor Katawazay, National Directorate for Security provincial
commander General Mohammad Yaseen, and the governor's tribal affairs
advisor (and cousin) Mohammad Mateen to Gayan district in
northeastern Paktika, on the border with Pakistan's unstable North
Waziristan tribal agency, to meet with the district's tribal shura.
Although security considerations prevented advance notice of the
event, almost two hundred people from the district's majority Zadran
tribe (the tribal base of the Haqqani network insurgency) assembled
in the district center compound. The governor spoke with the people
about security and development and said he would invite to the
provincial capital leaders of Gayan's Zadran tribe and its minority
Waziri population to resolve differences that are impeding extension
of governance to the district's Waziris, who reside in the area of
the strategically important Lwara border crossing area.

Support to GIRoA, but Accommodation with Taliban
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2. (SBU) Governor Katawazay urged the Zadran tribal leaders to
support the GIRoA and help stabilize their region, explaining that
better security will lead to more development projects for the
district. Governor Katawazay said he would do his best to increase
the number of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in the district
and secure more support from the provincial government. The shura
members and other participants responded that the leaders and people
fully support GIRoA. Several claimed, however, that the Taliban
present in the district "do not bother us, so we do not bother
them." Although the school near the district center was burned down
in 2007 and students are now studying under open-air tin-roof
shelters next to the district center, the people maintained that the
Taliban do not interfere with madrassas operating in the district.


Health Care and Governance Concerns
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3. (SBU) One leader complained that the lack of health services in
Gayan district sometimes leads to deaths of patients en route to
hospitals in surrounding areas (neighboring Orgun district or Miram
Shah, in Pakistan). Others complained about the district
sub-governor, Saber Gul, saying he spends more time at home than in
the district center. Many participants presented impromptu written
petitions to the governor, a number of which he addressed on the
spot with cash payments. Attending the shura was the head of a
household to which U.S. forces had made condolence payments in
September after a civilian casualty incident killed several family
members; he spoke cordially with provincial officials and PRT
members.

Governor takes Initiative in Resolving Tribal Dispute
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4. (SBU) During a lunch after the shura, Governor Katawazay
encouraged the Zadran leaders to resolve the dispute between their
tribe and the minority Waziri tribe in Gayan district. The Zadran
elders energetically denied that the Waziris belong to Gayan
district, saying they belong to neighboring Bermel district, where
nearly all Paktika's Waziris reside. They insisted that the Waziris
differ fundamentally from the Zadran in language, custom, and
culture and cannot be trusted because they are more Pakistani than
Afghan. Unable to convince the Zadran to cooperate with the
Waziris, Governor Katawazay said he would invite ten leaders of both
tribes to the provincial capital Sharana to resolve the dispute.

Comment
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5. (SBU) Gayan district, located in northeastern Paktika and
bordering Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal agency, is difficult
for PRT to reach and, because of remoteness and security challenges,
benefits from few development projects. The large majority of Gayan
residents belong to the Zadran tribe, which dominates the
mountainous area where Paktya, Paktika, and Khost provinces join and
is the home base of the Haqqani network insurgency. The small
Waziri population in Gayan who reside in southeastern Gayan adjacent
to Bermel complain that the Zadran refuse to allow them to
participate in the district shura or receive government services,
such as identification documents, in Gayan. This situation
effectively blocks the extension of governance to the strategically
significant area near the Lwara border crossing point and Forward
Operating Base Tillman. None of the nine tribal leaders currently
in the Gayan shura is Waziri. Governor Katawazay's suggestion to
bring both groups together to resolve their differences is a

KABUL 00001309 002 OF 002


positive step that the PRT intends to support.


6. (U) Maneuver unit commander for east Paktika and Brigade
Commander have seen this cable.

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