CROSS-BORDER TRIBAL SHURA: NANGARHAR ELDERS MEET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001419

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EAID AF
SUBJECT: CROSS-BORDER TRIBAL SHURA: NANGARHAR ELDERS MEET
WITH PAKISTANI COUNTERPARTS

Classified By: PRT and Sub-National Governance Director Valerie C. Fowl
er for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Leaders from Nangarhar Province's three main
Pashtun tribes met in Jalalabad May 12 with tribal elders
from Pakistan's Khyber and Mohmand Agencies to build
cross-border tribal unity and discuss ways to prevent
insurgent infiltration and activity. During the shura,
Afridi tribal elder Malik Noor Mohammed from Pakistan told
participants that local Afridi tribal members would not
cooperate with insurgents in his area. Shinwari tribal elder
from Nangarhar's Dur Baba district, Malik Kaftar, added that
he would work with fellow tribal leaders on both sides of the
border to cement tribal agreements designed to stop the flow
of insurgents. Mohmand tribal elder Malik Habib Khan, from
Nangarhar's Goshta district, added that remote villages along
the border with Pakistan would benefit from further
development projects from the U.S. Provincial Reconstruction
Team in Nangarhar. PRT representatives have actively pursued
relationships with the traditional tribal leadership of
Nangarhar, and encouraged Nangarhar's Director for the
Ministry of Border, Tribal and Ethnic Affairs to convene a
cross-border tribal shura, designed to include Pashtun tribal
members from Afghanistan,s Nangarhar province as well as
Pakistan,s Khyber and Mohmand Agencies. Continued dialogue
with key tribal leaders from these border areas, combined
with development projects targeting border communities, could
become a strategy for stemming the flow of insurgents into
Nangarhar. End Summary.

Cross-Border Shura
--------------


2. (C) Leaders from Nangarhar Province's three main Pashtun
tribes met in Jalalabad May 12 with tribal elders from
Pakistan's Khyber and Mohmand Agencies to discuss ways to
build cross-border tribal unity and prevent insurgent
infiltration and activity. The shura was organized by the
Nangarhar Director for the Ministry of Border, Tribal and
Ethnic Affairs, Dr. Ayoub Sharafat, and included 45 tribal
leaders from four tribes. These included Nangarhar's
Khogyani and Shinwari tribes, the Mohmand tribe ) which is
located in both Nangarhar and Pakistan,s Mohmand Agency )
and Pakistan,s Afridi tribe.

Mountain Passes
--------------


3. (C) Malik Noor Mohammad, a moderately-influential Afridi
tribal elder from Pakistan, who has a history of cooperating
with Afghan authorities, described how Taliban insurgents led
by Baitullah Masood have been assembling in or near the Tabi,
Chacobie and Sofi mountain passes, which funnel into
Nangarhar's Dur Baba district. Dur Baba is populated
predominately by the Shinwari tribe. Malik Noor told shura
participants that local Afridi tribal members would not
cooperate with these insurgents and would try to remove them
from the area.

Cross-Border Tribal Agreements
--------------


4. (C) Shinwari tribal elder from Nangarhar's Dur Baba
district, Malik Kaftar, added that he would work with fellow
tribal leaders on both sides of the border to cement tribal
agreements designed to stop the flow of insurgents to and
from Afghanistan. He praised Malik Noor's promise to stop
the insurgent flow into his district. Khogyani tribal elder
Haji Rahmatullah, from Nangarhar's Shirzad district, added
that his village, Chapari, is located at the base of a
mountain pass which is a conduit for insurgent infiltration
from Pakistan. He promised to report insurgent activity to
Afghan authorities.

More Development
--------------


5. (C) Mohmand tribal elder Malik Habib Khan, from
Nangarhar's Goshta district, said tribal members in his area
would cooperate with fellow Mohmand on the Pakistani side of
the border to prevent insurgent activity. He added that
remote villages along the border with Pakistan would benefit
from further development projects from the U.S. Provincial
Reconstruction Team in Nangarhar.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Jalalabad PRT representatives have met on a number of

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occasions with Nangarhar Director for the Ministry of Border,
Tribal and Ethnic Affairs, Dr. Ayoub Sharafat, encouraging
him to convene cross-border shuras which would include
Pashtun tribal members from Afghanistan's Nangarhar province
as well as Pakistan's Khyber and Mohmand Agencies. The PRT's
goal has been to gain insight into cross-border affairs and
establish relationships with key tribal leaders from
Pakistan, with an eye toward undermining cross-border
insurgent activity. During the shura, Afridi and Mohmand
tribal elders from the Pakistani side expressed an interest
in future meetings with the PRT. PRT State Representative
will continue to pursue these relationships.


7. (C) Beyond the PRT's governance mission with provincial
and district officials, PRT representatives have actively
pursued relationships with the traditional tribal leadership
of Nangarhar. Tribal leaders wield considerable influence in
Nangarhar province. Tribal members living in remote villages
near the mountainous border passes are a key to interdicting
insurgent traffic. They are in many ways businessmen and
would benefit from a certain level of stability in their
area. Targeted development in remote border communities on
the Afghan side could be coordinated with USAID development
projects in key communities on the Pakistani side, to help
build a cross-border inter-tribal and intra-tribal consensus
on preventing insurgent access to strategic mountain passes.


8. (U) The Deputy Commander of TF Duke has reviewed this
message.
EIKENBERRY