VZCZCXRO5791
PP RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #1118/01 0951041
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051041Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7295
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3915
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001118 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CR, S/CT, SCA/PAB 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE 
NSC FOR HARRIMAN 
OSD FOR SHIVERS 
CENTCOM FOR CG CJTF-82, AND POLAD 
RELEASABLE TO NATO/ISAF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR AF
SUBJECT: PRT PANJSHIR: FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER ABDULLAH, AT 
HOME 
 
------ 
SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU) According to former Foreign Minister Abdullah, who 
maintains a home and strong connections in Panjshir, the 
province is changing rapidly thanks above all to the new road 
that connects it with Kabul.  He cited education as a key 
sector for Panjshir,s future and bemoaned the lack of strong 
leadership with a coherent vision in the capital.  Abdullah 
said some in Kabul envied Panjshir,s success in blocking 
insurgent violence and poppy cultivation, he added that some 
Panjshiris in the capital detracted from the province,s 
reputation.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) PRTers met with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the former 
Afghan Foreign Minister, March 22 in his Panjshir home.  He 
had returned from Delhi to the valley with his family to 
celebrate the Islamic New Year.  The talk centered on his 
views of Panjshir and Kabul.  He also demonstrated an 
up-to-date grasp of U.S. diplomacy, both policy and 
personnel. 
 
------------ 
The Province 
------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) "Panjshir is full of complexities, and only those 
who live here, as I did, can come to grasp them," Abdullah 
said of his adopted province.  Asked about change in 
Panjshir, Abdullah cited the new road as the most powerful 
agent of progress.  The road improvements had cut the drive 
time from Kabul by over half, from five hours to two.  (Note: 
 The road project, funded by USAID, hired Abdullah,s 
brother-in-law, General Qassim, as a community liaison. 
Qassim sat in on the meeting. End Note.)  Its main effect was 
to link Panjshir with Kabul.  The drive was now so smooth, 
Abdullah said, as to be disorienting.  One arrived in 
destinations much faster than anticipated. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The entry to the valley, Abdullah said, had changed 
radically in recent days.  It used to be littered with Soviet 
vehicles, knocked out by the mujahideen.  Now it the debris 
was cleaned up, but also stripped of history.  Abdullah 
expressed hope that the road would someday extend into 
Panjshir,s northern districts and then into Badakhshan.  He 
recalled his own experience in that area as a foot soldier of 
the mujahideen, receiving supplies from Badakhshan funneled 
through the Anjuman Pass. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) As Abdullah,s request, PRTers briefed on seven new 
schools and a teachers, training college, all funded by the 
U.S. Commander,s Emergency Response Program (CERP). 
Abdullah commended the construction, saying education was a 
key factor in transforming Panjshir and Afghanistan.  He 
emphasized the importance of training teachers, especially 
female teachers.  He deplored the fact that Afghan teachers 
were lowly paid and poorly trained. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On PRTs, Abdullah lauded their work.  He noted he 
had helped shape the first one, in Gardez, and had followed 
their subsequent evolution, including the "success story" of 
the one in Panjshir.  In response to his question about the 
status of the Provincial Development Plan, PRTers told 
Abdullah it was more of a priority list than a strategic 
vision, but nonetheless a good start.  Abdullah also inquired 
about the Panjshir line directors; PRTers replied they were 
uneven, ranging from a few strong ones to several who were 
incompetent. 
 
----------- 
The Capital 
----------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Turning to Afghanistan outside Panjshir, Abdullah 
 
KABUL 00001118  002 OF 002 
 
 
said he expected a continuation of military skirmishing 
between Taliban insurgents and coalition forces.  The biggest 
problem, he said, was in Kabul, where the Afghan leaders were 
not tackling the medium- and long-run challenges.  He 
criticized the lack of strong leadership with a coherent 
vision.  Further, the Afghan government was not allowing the 
Afghan people a proper role in its deliberations. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Abdullah recognized that the thin capacity of the 
Afghan ministries was also a problem.  Their expertise was 
limited, and they often lacked leadership.  Somewhat adrift, 
the ministries were losing touch with the people and the 
provinces.  Ministers needed to get out of Kabul more 
frequently and travel around the country more extensively, 
including to Panjshir, which rarely saw a minister. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Kabul, Abdullah continued, needed to work harder at 
coordinating budgetary resources.  The government was doing a 
poor job in supporting its administrative units in the 
provinces.  The task was complicated by muddled transparency 
on the part of some international donors.  Without better 
coordination, reconstruction would be hard to sustain. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Asked if Afghans outside Panjshir had views on the 
province,s success in blocking insurgent violence and poppy 
cultivation, Abduallh said there was some envy.  But, he 
continued, some Panjshiris in Kabul, through their actions, 
did no favors for the reputation of their province. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Although his children are in school in Delhi, 
Abdullah said he regards his real home as Kabul and Panjshir. 
 He visits Panjshir on occasion.  He never misses the 
September commemorative events for Ahmed Shah Massoud. 
PRTers last saw him September 10 after the main public 
commemoration.  His living room, where he meets his guests, 
is filled with pictures of Massoud photographs, paintings, 
even an etching in black marble.  According to PRT contacts, 
Abdullah is becoming more active in the Massoud Foundation as 
a base to voice his political views, including the ones 
sounded in the PRT meeting.  END COMMENT. 
NEUMANN