This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L KABUL 005219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2015 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM AF
SUBJECT: AFGHAN PARLIAMENT: SELECTION OF DEPUTY SPEAKERS 
 
Classified By: ACTING DCM ANGUS SIMMONS FOR REASONS 1.2 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Begin summary: Both houses of the Afghan Parliament 
have now selected Deputy Speakers, ending a week of 
behind-the-scenes horse trading and bargaining for the 
coveted positions.  Although the actual promises may never be 
fully revealed,the result has been a list of names that 
reflect both traditional powers in Afghanistan as well as 
diverse ethnic groups. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) In the Meshrano Jirga (upper house), President 
Karzai's appointee Hamid Gailani was selected as First 
Deputy. Gailani is the son of Peer Gailani, who reportedly 
asked the President that his son Hamid (who was an 
unsuccessful candidate in the Wolesi Jirga election) be 
appointed to the upper house rather than accepting a position 
himself. This gives additional influence to the Gailani 
family.  Hamid Gailani's sister is Director of the Afghan Red 
Crescent, and her husband is Minister of Finance. Two other 
Gailanis (Seyed Ishaq Gailani from Paktika and Fouzia Gailani 
from Herat, neither of whom is on warm terms with Peer 
Gailani's part of the family) are in the Wolesi Jirga as 
well. If the three Gailani cousins can resolve their family 
differences, they could form an effective family unit in the 
Parliament. 
 
¶3. (U) Burhanullah Shinwari, a Pashtun from Jalalabad, was 
selected as Second Deputy and Aminullah Muzafari was elected 
as secretary of the Meshrano Jirga. 
 
¶4. (C) In the Wolesi Jirga (lower house), Aref Noorzai 
received the majority of votes to become First Deputy. 
Noorzai is a former Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs 
who reputedly is also deeply involved in the illegal drug 
trade.  Tied by marriage to the Karzai family (his sister is 
reportedly married to President Karzai's younger brother), 
Noorzai is a Pashtun MP from Kandahar. Aref Noorzai 
originally wanted to become Speaker but was unsuccessful in 
that race. In view of his new position as a Parliamentarian, 
he may be trying to cleanse his reputation as well.  In a 
meeting with Poloffs last week he spent considerable time 
repeating talking points written by a friend at the Palace 
which lamented the dangers of the drug trade in Afghanistan. 
All present kept straight faces during his anti-poppy 
presentation. 
 
¶5. (C) Ms. Fawzia Kofi, a Tajik MP from Badakshan, was 
selected as Second Deputy.  She is a former UNICEF employee 
and a lawyer by training.  Her father was a four term Member 
of Parliament during King Zahir Shah's reign. 
 
¶6. (C) The past few days have seen considerable bargaining 
among the various power brokers in and around the Parliament. 
The new speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, Yunus Qanooni, 
reportedly had to give up his position as head of the 
Afghanistan-i-Naween Party in order to get much-needed 
support from Rabbani. Wali Massoud was apparently part of the 
deal as well, giving up his position as head of the 
Nezat-i-Islami Party.  Both parties are apparently now being 
folded into the Jamiat-i-Islami Party under Rabbani's 
leadership. Qanooni was also required, or at least persuaded, 
to announce publicly that he was no longer in opposition to 
the government of President Karzai. Poloffs were told last 
week by ex-Minister of Commerce Sayed Kazemi, a Shiite MP 
(but of Arab rather than Hazara descent), that he had 
brokered a reconciliation between Qanooni and the Karzais in 
order to stave off a take-over by Sayaff. The truth of this 
may never be known, because the Palace seemed divided in its 
support for speaker candidates, with various sources claiming 
that Karzai supported Rabbani, Sayaff and then Qanooni at 
different times. 
 
¶7. (C) COMMENT: Poloff spent the afternoon of the Wolesi 
Jirga selection lounging next to perennial power-monger and 
new Meshrano Jirga MP Marshall Fahim at a buzkeshi game. The 
players whipped and goaded their horses in an effort to grab 
the coveted sheep skin, some falling from their saddles and 
others displaying patches of blood. In the VIP seats, 
however, all was calm and order. Many Afghan politicos were 
present, comfortably answering phone calls from the 
Parliament building but seemingly paying more attention to 
the merits of the horses and the abilities of the players 
than to the distant selection process for deputy speakers. 
Whatever wheeling and dealing went on in political circles, 
it was all done in an Afghan way. The deals will only become 
apparent as various people are given committee chairmanships 
in the Parliament, or as they benefit from other 
appointments. END COMMENT. 
NEUMANN