Paktika's Sarobi District: Challenges Aplenty Despite

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000908 DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA USFOR-A FOR POLAD SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA 8 MARKING) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL AF SUBJECT: Paktika's Sarobi District: Challenges Aplenty Despite Relative Prosperity KABUL 00000908 001.3 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary: Because of its strategic location and potential for development, Sarobi district in Paktika Province is considered by the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and Maneuver Battalion to be an important district for reconstruction efforts, despite a number of challenges. Sarobi District Administrator Zahir Dad said Afghan National Police (ANP) are understaffed and under-equipped to deal with a likely increase in enemy activity as the weather continues to warm. Schools are functioning in Sarobi, although ten of 25 lack buildings and textbooks are inadequate. Roads and irrigation projects are the main needs of the people. Despite the relative prosperity of Sarobi, governance capacity is lacking and judicial structures are absent. District authorities are making security plans for the August 20 presidential elections, with control of roads vital to countering enemy influence. End summary. Security: After Winter Lull, Higher Enemy Activity Likely -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On March 21, the PRT command team met with Sarobi District Administrator Al Haj Zahir Dad. Zahir Dad, a former ANP colonel, noted that security had improved during the winter months but predicted insurgent activity would likely increase as the weather continues to warm. He noted the arrival in the district of "Uzbeks, Chechens, and Arabs," whose goal is to impede reconstruction efforts. Zahir Dad said the most powerful grouping in the area was Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG),with connections to Pakistani Taliban leader Beitullah Mehsud. According to Zahir Dad, the former Taliban "shadow governor" for Paktika, Bakhta Jan, from Gayan district, had been replaced by commanders Sangin and Rassul Khan; Zahir Dad described these commanders as "very extremist and very bad." He added that the ANP only had half of its authorized force in place in Sarobi, and only ten of those police had ammunition; however, the Sarobi ANP could call for help from Orgun district. Lack of fuel hindered the Sarobi ANP's ability to conduct patrols, and the district administrator bought fuel with personal funds to enable patrolling. Development: Schools Operating Despite Challenges; Roads and Irrigation Needed -------------- ¶3. (U) Regarding development, Zahir Dad said men from many Sarobi families work abroad in Karachi, Lahore, or the UAE, and these families wanted peace in the district. However, some of Sarobi's (Kharoti) tribal leaders with Taliban connections were opposed to reconstruction projects. Zahir Dad noted that Sarobi district, with a population of 47,000 distributed among 122 villages, has 25 operating schools, only ten of which have buildings. Seven of these need boundary walls. Four girls' schools are functioning (one high school, one middle school, and two primary schools),serving 1,800 girls. Schools have not received textbooks for the current school year for any grade. On the morning of the PRT's visit, Zahir Dad said that Taliban on motorcycles threatened contractors working at a school near the district center but the contractors continued their work. Zahir Dad said road construction, retaining walls for agricultural land, deep wells for farmers outside of the Zama watershed area, and lining of irrigation canals (karezes) were the greatest needs of the people. ¶4. (U) Zahir Dad said that USAID-supplied winterization kits and World Food Program (WFP) wheat earned through the Food-For-Work program had reached their intended recipients in Sarobi. He said he had held a shura in which recipients showed their identification cards and certified receipt of the assistance with a thumbprint. According to Zahir Dad, Sarobi residents had cleaned 65 karezes so far in the Food-For-Work program, and another 66 remained to be cleaned. The residents did good work beyond their expected capacity, he said, but the karezes will fill back up with sediment quickly unless they are lined with masonry or stone. Governance: More Resources Needed; Elections Depend on Security -------------- ¶5. (U) Despite being one of Paktika's more prosperous districts, government capacity in Sarobi remains sparse. Zahir Dad said only representatives from the provincial directorates for agriculture, education, and administration/finance are present in the district, as well as a statistics officer responsible for identity documents. There are no functioning courts or judges (Note: The district prosecutor died of natural causes four months ago). Zahir Dad said he needed the line directors for agriculture and rural rehabilitation and development, as well as the provincial director for administration and the district attorney, to visit Sarobi to understand local needs. Zahir Dad said he communicates by cell phone, usually twice a day, with the provincial government; however, the Taliban shuts down cell phone service at night which limits communication. Zahir Dad has a PRT-provided satellite KABUL 00000908 002.3 OF 002 telephone but has no funds for air time cards. CODAN radio allows ANP communication with Sharana. ¶6. (U) Zahir Dad said approximately 10,000 Sarobi residents had registered to vote during the December-January voter registration period. However, Sarobi residents are under the influence and threat of HIG and Pakistani influences and may not vote in the August presidential elections unless security is established. Zahir Dad said local Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) would begin work the following day on a security plan for the elections. Most important, he said, would be the establishment of checkpoints on the road between Bermel district and the Sarobi village of Rabat, and on the road between Sarobi and Gomal districts. Asked how election campaigning would likely be conducted in Sarobi, Zahir Dad replied that no parties or candidates would set up offices or campaign there, but they would reach out through proxies to tribal leaders to influence the people. He said the 2004 presidential elections had been conducted well in Sarobi, but the 2005 parliamentary elections had been bought outright by agents of the candidates. Comment -------------- ¶7. (U) Sarobi district shows evidence of greater prosperity than most of Paktika due to relatively good agriculture conditions and the relatively greater amount of foreign remittances from residents working in higher paying locations such as Dubai. Sarobi is strategically important as a geographic connection between Pakistan and the provincial capital Sharana, as well as for its agricultural potential and relatively successful educational and economic conditions. Despite the presence of enemy activity, reconstruction and development can be accomplished in Sarobi, and the PRT includes it among its priority districts. ¶8. (U) PRT Sharana Commander, Maneuver Battalion commander and the DOS Regional Advisor for Task Force Yukon have reviewed this cable. RICCIARDONE