VZCZCXRO8616
RR RUEHIK RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #0112/01 0101042
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101042Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2350
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4356
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUHEHMS/COMUSMARCENT MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000112 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV AF
 
SUBJECT: Kabul Governor on Security, Governance, and Ethnic 
Relations 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) According to its governor, Kabul province faces the 
challenges of accommodating a rapidly growing and changing 
population and uneven development.  The Governor highlights subdued 
ethnic tensions and the problems created by a lack of clearly 
defined responsibilities among line ministries, provincial 
authorities, and municipal government.  The recent deterioration in 
security in provinces around Kabul may be due more to crime than 
insurgents. 
 
Growing Pains 
------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On January 6, Kabul Province Governor Din Mohammed met with 
the Ambassador to outline the challenges facing Kabul province, 
which consists of 15 districts including the city itself.  He 
estimated the population of the province at over five million (three 
to four million of which live in the city proper).  While both the 
province and city are traditionally Tajik who still constitute more 
than half the province's population, an influx of repatriated 
refugees has changed demographics.  The Pashtun and Hazara 
populations, especially in the outlying areas of the city, have 
grown.  Din Mohammad said he faces finding housing for the 100,000 
returnees from Iran and Pakistan who have a UNHCR certificate 
stating they are originally from Kabul.  There are many others, not 
originally from Kabul, who have come to the province in search of 
jobs, good security, health and education. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Din Mohammad acknowledged that provincial ethnic tensions 
do exist, but said that discrimination against Pashtuns has 
decreased in recent years.  Previously, a Pashtun with a beard, 
entering the province for the first time, had to fear being arrested 
as a suspected terrorist.  Uneven development and uneven access to 
land and services distribution continues to generate some ethnic 
tensions.  Din Mohammad said he would like to steer development 
towards the underserved southern districts of Surobi, Mussahi, and 
Chahar Asyab, but these are predominantly Pashtun and this would 
cause resentments elsewhere (including within the similarly 
underserved Harzara areas). 
 
Governance 
---------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Overshadowed by Kabul city's mayor, Rohullah Aman - also a 
Pashtun - and by the line ministries, Din Mohammad complained he is 
not left with enough authority or responsibility to make a 
significant difference in the region.  He complained of increased 
distance from President Karzai. 
 
Security 
-------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Din Mohammad distinguished between security problems in 
Kabul and those in outlying provinces.  Challenging the popular fear 
that insurgents may be trying to encircle Kabul, he describes 
security incidents as isolated and often contrived.  He claimed that 
police in Mussahi district are simply trying to attract attention. 
Investigating a rocket attack in Surobi district, he determined that 
it was the result of a police corruption scheme aimed at trucks 
coming in from Pakistan. 
 
Bio Note 
-------- 
 
¶6. (U) Governor Hajji Din Mohammad was born in Nangarhar in 1953 and 
has served as governor of Kabul province since July 2005.  A Pashtun 
from the Gilzai tribe, he is well educated, well traveled, and has a 
long history of service to Afghanistan.  Both he and his brother, 
Hajji Abdul Qadeer, have served as governor of Nangarhar province. 
His brother also served as the Minister of Urban Development in the 
Afghan Interim Government.  During the Emergency Loya Jirga, his 
brother was considered for Vice-President and Minister of Public 
Works but was assassinated by insurgents shortly thereafter. 
 
¶7. (U) Din Mohammad has a degree in literature from Kabul 
University.  In 1974 he emigrated to Pakistan, where he became 
 
KABUL 00000112  002 OF 002 
 
 
engaged in the jihad against the Soviet occupation.  He served as a 
deputy to Mohammad Younus Khalis, deceased leader of the 
Hezb-I-Islami Afghanistan faction, and was a member of the 
Mujahideen Military Council.  In this capacity, he was a member of 
the Mujahideen delegation to the UN in New York between 1984-1987. 
He also served as Minister of National Security during the Afghan 
Interim Government in Peshawar.  After the collapse of the communist 
regime in 1992, Din Mohammad was appointed as the Deputy Prime 
Minister and the Minister of Education.  Later, Din Mohammad was 
also appointed as Minister of Information and Culture. 
 
¶8. (U) Din Mohammad is pro-government and anti-Taliban.  After 9/11 
and the collapse of the Taliban regime, Din Mohammad's younger 
brother, Commander Abdul Haq and his son Ezatullah Sahil, were 
captured and executed by Taliban insurgents in 2001.  There is an 
ongoing investigation. 
 
Wood