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 KABUL 00001419 002 OF 002 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