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FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0471
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002142 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EAID AF PAK PTER
SUBJECT: TRIBAL REVOLT AGAINST THE TALIBAN IN NANGAHAR,S 
MAMAND VALLEY 
 
Classified By: PRT and Sub-National Governance Director Valerie C. Fowl 
er for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (S/NF) The Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) 
met July 23 with tribal members from Nangarhar's Mamand 
Valley to coordinate support for their recent uprising 
against the Taliban.  The resistance by local members of the 
Shinwar tribe against Taliban insurgents represents a new 
development and an opportunity in the troubled border 
district of Achin.  During the meeting, local leaders told us 
they intended to defend their village against a threatened 
insurgent counter-attack, and that they needed more weapons 
and ammunition.  They also urged provincial officials and 
Coalition Forces to meet with them again to discuss a 
security plan to assist the villagers.  The July 17 clash 
between locals from Bagh village in the Mamand Valley and the 
Taliban began as a street argument, but spiraled into a 
full-fledged revolt against insurgents.  The resistance 
against the Taliban in the Mamand Valley of Nangarhar is an 
opportunity which the PRT and other Coalition Forces plan to 
exploit, in an effort to widen the gap between the local 
population and insurgents.  End Summary. 
 
Anti )Taliban Revolt 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) Twenty-five prominent members of the 
Rahimdad Khiel sub-tribe from southern Nangarhar's Mamand 
Valley met July 23 with the PRT, other Coalition Forces, and 
provincial and district officials to discuss recent fighting 
between villagers and insurgents in the strategic valley that 
laces through the Spin Ghar Mountains separating Afghanistan 
from Pakistan.  The PRT called the meeting to discuss how the 
provincial government and Coalition Forces could better 
support the Shinwar tribal members in their newfound 
resistance.  The tribal delegation was headed by Malik Niyaz 
Mohammad, the local patron of remote Bagh village, who has a 
history of tolerating and dealing with insurgents, but who 
led the resistance against them in fierce fighting July 17. 
 
A Gap Opens 
----------- 
 
¶3. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) The sudden and unexpected resistance by 
local members of the Shinwar tribe against Taliban 
insurgents, who have been massing in the Mamand Valley in 
recent months, and who had thus far moved relatively freely 
around and through local villages, is a new development in 
the troubled border district of Achin.  The local revolt 
represents what appears to be a schism between the local 
population and insurgents.  Two villagers and at least two 
insurgents ) including a Taliban commander ) were killed in 
the fighting.  Eleven more insurgents, including at least 
eight from Pakistan, were captured by locals.  Eight were 
turned over to Afghan authorities, but three more are still 
being held by villagers as bargaining chips against the 
11-year-old nephew of Malik Niyaz, who was taken hostage by 
Taliban during the clash, Malik Niyaz told us. 
 
Give Us Weapons 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) During the July 23 meeting, Malik Niyaz 
told the PRT, other Coalition Forces and the Governor's 
representative (Governor Gul Agha Sherzai has been away in 
Kandahar campaigning for President Karzai's re-election) that 
they intended to defend their village against a threatened 
insurgent counter-attack, and that they needed more weapons 
and ammunition.  Note: Coalition Forces do not currently plan 
to directly provide the villagers with weapons.  End Note. 
 
¶5. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) On July 22, Taliban spokesman Qari 
Hamza reportedly told Pajhwok Afghan News that their forces 
would avenge their comrades who were killed in the fighting 
in and around Bagh village.  Malik Niyaz told us that a local 
scratch force of 320 young men had taken up defensive 
positions in key areas around the village to protect the 
community.  He complained that Afghan Army and Police ) as 
well as Coalition Forces ) did not respond in force and in a 
timely manner during the July 17 fighting.  Only three 
police, led by the local police chief, arrived at the remote 
village in time to participate in the fight, he said.  During 
the fighting, Malik Niyaz had requested though Afghan 
security forces that Coalition air power be dispatched to the 
area.  The Commander of the U.S. Special Troops Battalion 
(STB) explained to him that confusion on the ground and the 
 
KABUL 00002142  002 OF 002 
 
 
inability to distinguish villagers from insurgents made air 
strikes too dangerous at the time.  Malik Niyaz accepted the 
explanation. 
 
¶6. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) Another influential local, Malik Kamin 
Azimi, urged provincial officials and Coalition Forces to 
meet with them again to discuss a security plan to assist 
villagers.  The PRT and STB commanders, as well as the 
Governor's representative, agreed.  The commanders of the PRT 
and Agri-Business Development Team (ADT) also agreed to a 
separate meeting to discuss possible development projects for 
the area, in an effort to show villagers the benefits of an 
effective government. 
 
From Insult to Open War 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) By most accounts from those who were on 
the scene, local resistance against insurgents was not the 
result of patriotic Afghans standing up to the enemies of 
their government.  Instead, the clash began when insurgents, 
who were milling around the village, insulted Malik Niyaz for 
hosting his nephew, an Afghan National Army (ANA) sergeant 
who was on leave and staying with him.  Eight male members of 
Malik Niyaz' family responded to the insult by confronting 
the insurgents, who included local Taliban Commander Mullah 
Abdul Qayum.  The insurgents opened fire, killing two of the 
eight locals.  Villagers immediately responded, opening fire 
on Qayum and another insurgent.  Witnesses said Abdul Qayum 
was wounded by gunfire, then stoned to death by villagers. 
Malik Niyaz told us he ordered all males in his family to 
attack the insurgents, and they were joined by a reported 
5,000 villagers, who drove the insurgents from the area, he 
said. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (S/NF) The local uprising against the Taliban in the 
Mamand Valley of Nangarhar is an opportunity.  Over the past 
eight months, the PRT's State Department Representative has 
been meeting regularly with maliks and other tribal leaders 
from isolated mountain villages and mountain passes near the 
Pakistani border to establish relationships and promote the 
district, provincial and national government in areas that 
rarely see the effects of state power.  The PRT's State and 
other representatives have also met regularly with family 
members of insurgents, who provide shelter, food and other 
assistance to anti-government forces.  The PRT's goal is to 
convince, cajole, or scare them away from assisting the 
insurgents, and to help them recognize the benefits of siding 
with the Afghan government.  The local resistance against the 
Taliban in the Mamand Valley appears to be spontaneous and 
unrelated to the PRT's outreach efforts, as family, village 
and tribal ties tend to outweigh national loyalty in the 
isolated communities along the Pakistani border. 
Nevertheless, the PRT, STB and ADT are working with the 
provincial government to exploit and widen the gap that 
appears to have opened between the populace and insurgents in 
parts of the Mamand Valley. 
 
¶9. (S/NF) Comment Continued.  After the July 23 meeting, the 
PRT arranged a roundtable discussion on the local affiliate 
of RTA television, which included Malik Niyaz and local 
officials describing their resistance against the Taliban in 
the Mamand Valley.  The program was also converted to radio 
spots, to ensure residents in other remote parts of Nangarhar 
are aware of the example set by the Rahimdad Khiel sub-tribe, 
and encourage others to follow suit.  The PRT and STB also 
plan to coordinate closely with provincial and district 
security officials to organize a security plan to support the 
residents of the Mamand Valley against the Taliban.  End 
Comment. 
 
¶10. (S/NF) TF Mountain Warrior Commander Colonel Randy George 
has reviewed this cable. 
EIKENBERRY