VZCZCXRO8312
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #3594/01 2231614
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111614Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1893
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/JICCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/COMSOCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2740
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2890
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 6220
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 1569

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 003594 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO (DAS GASTRIGHT), SCA/A, S/CRS, 
SCA/PB, S/CT, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/CDHA/DG 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR BREZINSKI 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD 
REL NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PTER AF
SUBJECT: KARZAI NOMINATES SABIT FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL 
 
KABUL 00003594  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: President Karzai nominated Dr. Abdul 
Jabar Sabit as Attorney General on August 8. The 
Embassy has worked closely with Sabit on several 
issues including the Counternarcotics Law, Anti- 
Terrorism Law, and detainees.  Although a somewhat 
volatile personality, his appointment seems like a 
move in the right direction; he is well qualified and 
respected by many in the international community. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Dr. Abdul Jabar Sabit, a 61 year old Pashtun, 
has been an effective partner for the Embassy in all 
aspects of law enforcement and legal reform and one of 
the most competent lawyers in Afghanistan. Sabit has 
served as Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Interior 
since 2003 and has maintained an open and honest 
relationship with the Embassy.  Sabit is more 
conservative than moderate in his views; for example 
he has supported raids on restaurants serving alcohol 
to Afghans and has been equivocal on the proposed new 
Department for Vice and Virtue:  he has made it clear 
that while he may support the new department he firmly 
opposes any enforcement capacity as was the case under 
the Taliban. While he has always been very frank about 
his views, he is willing to listen to other arguments 
and take them into consideration. The UN and EU 
representatives (whose views were not sought by 
Karzai) would have preferred another candidate who we 
felt was much less likely to begin prosecution of 
corruption. END SUMMARY. 
 
BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 
 
¶3. (SBU) Dr. Sabit received a law degree from Kabul 
University School of Law in the late 1960s and a J.D. 
from George Washington University in 1977. He also 
holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason 
University. He has worked for the Taqnin, the 
legislative drafting unit, at MOJ for many years. In 
the early 1970s he led one of its two sections under 
now- Chief Justice Azimi and knows the Afghan justice 
system intimately. He has a reputation as a scholar, 
publishing numerous scholarly articles on law, the 
Afghan-Soviet conflict, and on the struggle against 
the Taliban. Dr. Sabit worked and taught law in 
Peshawar from 1978 until about 1983 when he was 
recruited by the VOA to work in the U.S. He worked in 
Washington for VOA from 1983 through approximately 
¶1992. During the same period he also worked with 
former MOI Jalali in the U.S. at the VOA. After 
leaving the VOA, Dr. Sabit taught international law in 
Canada and Pakistan until 2002. He also established 
and ran a Human Rights Commission in Pakistan in the 
mid 1990s. He returned to Afghanistan in early 2002 to 
work with U.N. before joining the government in 2003. 
Since 2003 he has worked as Legal Advisor for the MOI. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Dr. Sabit has a son who is a neurosurgeon in 
New Jersey (US Citizen); a son who is a medical 
student at McGill University in Montral, Canada; and 
a daughter in law school at McGill University in 
Canada. 
 
SABIT'S RECENT WORK WITH THE EMBASSY 
 
¶5. (SBU) Sabit started working with the UN upon his 
return to Afghanistan. The UK later persuaded him to 
work at MOI as Legal Advisor to former Minister Jalali 
in early 2003 to advise them on narcotics enforcement 
 
KABUL 00003594  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
and legal issues. He was selected by the UK in 2004 to 
establish the Criminal Justice Taskforce (CJTF), and 
he selected the initial members of the CJTF. He has 
served as the UK and CJTF's principal advisor for 
counternarcotics. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Over the last two years, Dr. Sabit has worked 
closely with the embassy on several key legal issues. 
One of the most high profile was the new Counter 
Narcotics law on which he was the primary Afghan 
interlocutor. Dr. Sabit also wrote the legal opinion 
on the extradition of Baz Mohammad in October 2005. 
More recently he worked on new extradition 
regulations, that were sent to the Taqnin for passage 
by decree. 
 
¶7. (SBU) With regard to military issues, he has served 
on the Afghan Detainee Working Group and led a team of 
Afghans to visit Guantanamo in May 2006. He has also 
worked on drafting military court laws in September 
and December 2005 and his assistance was critical to 
their approval by Taqnin and passage by Cabinet. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Most recently Dr. Sabit has worked on the 
Anti-Terrorism law which was recently submitted to the 
Taqnin and GoA. He has said he plans to make fighting 
corruption a key priority, an issue that most avoid. 
He also said he would use the CN law and CN court 
jurisdiction until a complete reform of corruption 
laws can be completed. He will likely need and seek US 
help on this task. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Another likely change will be reform of the 
Attorney General's Office. He has been called an 
excellent administrator and has suggested he will 
likely reform the entire office but will need US help 
on this issue as well. 
 
ON VICE AND VIRTUE 
 
¶10. (SBU) Sabit's position on Vice and Virtue 
Department is simple - he does not want anything that 
even hints of a return to the Taliban ways, but fully 
supports the reinstatement of the department under 
restricted terms. Over the past two years he has 
worked to roundup Chinese prostitutes working in 
restaurants in Kabul and has confiscated alcohol from 
several restaurants accused of serving alcohol to 
Afghans. He feels strongly that Afghans need to be 
protected from such vices and considers it his duty to 
enforce these Sharia laws.  When it comes to 
foreigners, he is very tolerant.  He does not expect 
them to follow the same rules; however, at the same 
time he expects they will not interfere with their 
application to Afghans. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶11. Comment: (SBU) Dr. Sabit is expected to be a very 
aggressive and capable Attorney General and certainly 
is highly qualified for the post. The Embassy is 
encouraged by his nomination because he is competent, 
qualified, and serious about necessary reforms; we 
hope he is confirmed by Parliament.  UN and EU 
officials are concerned about his conservative views 
but did not offer Karzai a better candidate.  Sabit 
does have a reputation for sometimes being a bit 
"wild" in tackling issues on his own and sometimes 
 
KABUL 00003594  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
raising a fuss; it is a risk we think is worthwhile 
taking if we can get movement on corruption.  He knows 
the Ambassador supported his nomination (so does half 
of Kabul and President Karzai is telling those who 
complain about the appointment that the Americans made 
him do it; an exaggeration). Sabit has said he will 
consult closely with us but we will see how this 
develops.  Sabit is likely to undertake needed reform 
in the AG's office and actively fight corruption. That 
being said, we need to keep in mind his conservative 
leanings and remember that while he will be open to 
our suggestions, he has strong views of his own that 
he will not easily abandon. 
 
NEUMANN