VZCZCXYZ2810
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBUL #0576/01 0660607
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060607Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3145
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//JF/UNMA//
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS KABUL 000576 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR WOOD 
OSD FOR SHIVERS 
CENTCOM FOR CG CJTF-82, POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: Baghlan, Afghanistan: New Leadership to Address Provincial 
Challenges 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Since the tragic suicide attack on the Baghlan 
Sugar Factory on November 6, 2007, the central government has 
replaced two leading provincial officials and has increased pressure 
on Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to combat organized crime 
and insurgent activity.  Baghlan is stable and relatively secure, 
and traffic continues to flow along the Ring Road and to reach the 
northern and western provinces.  Industry is the basis for economic 
development in the province.  It remains to be seen whether the 
young, newly-appointed and politically-inexperienced governor is 
able to assert his office's authority. 
 
Security - Fall Out from the Baghlan Sugar Factory Bombing 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶2. (SBU) The attack on the Baghlan Sugar Factory, in which 
approximately 75 individuals died, shook the provincial government. 
President Karzai eventually succumbed to pressure from Parliament 
and replaced the provincial governor and National Directorate of 
Security (NDS) provincial chief.  Both the provincial police chief, 
who was in Kabul at a police conference at the time of the bombing, 
and his deputy have retained their positions. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Police and NDS recently conducted an operation targeting 
organized criminals and insurgents in the province.  More than 120 
individuals surrendered, likely motivated by previous overnment 
operations that caused casualties. Among the detained individuals 
were seven criinals accused of providing material support for he 
attack on the sugar factory. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Given the geographic distances between the provincial 
capital and outlying district centers and its limited number of 
personnel, the ANSF is reliant upon local elders and communities to 
maintain stability.  The Andarab belt in southeastern Baghlan, the 
Qandahari belt west of the river, and the border region between 
Kunduz and Baghlan remain areas of concern due to insurgents, 
organized crime, and ethnic tension.  The ANSF permanent presence 
has decreased since the abolishment of the highway police and the 
consolidation of the auxiliary police in Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh 
province.  (Neither Baghlan nor Balkh was ever authorized auxiliary 
police).  The Afghan army does not currently have a permanent 
presence in the province, although one battalion from the 209 Corps, 
2nd Brigade, which will soon be established in Kunduz, is expected 
to deploy to Pol-e Khomri, the capital of Baghlan. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The provincial police chief, Maulana Syed Khili, is a Tajik 
who is a former jihadi and Afghan National Army commander from 
Parwan province.  He served as Parwan's provincial police chief for 
two years before arriving in Baghlan in 2007.  Khili is a fighter 
with a flair for self-promotion and understands the need to 
demonstrate results, especially to foreign audiences.  The 
recently-arrived provincial NDS chief Mohammed Daoud is a Tajik 
originally from Kunduz province.  His brother-in-law, Mir Alam, is a 
former mujahideen commander, a local power broker, and most 
recently, Baghlan's provincial police chief, who was removed through 
the rank reform process. 
 
Development - Industrial Towns, Hydro-electric Power and Jitters 
about Privatization 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶6. (SBU) A drive from Kunduz o Pol-e Khomri highlights Baghlan's 
industrial focus.  Along the route are sugar and cheese factories in 
Fabrica, a cement plant and coal mine in Pol-e Khomri, 
hydro-electric plants along the river, and trucks exiting the Salang 
Pass enroute to Mazar-e Sharif and Kunduz and to Uzbekistan, 
Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.  While there have been initiatives to 
strengthen or rehabilitate the industrial concerns, current 
development efforts are focused on priority sectors such as 
education and health and reaching some of the more remote or 
potentially volatile districts such as Tala Wa Barfek, Deh-e Salah, 
Pal-e Hazar and Baghlan-e Jedid. 
 
¶7. (SBU) A Soviet-style command economy (state-driven investment, 
government factories) remains the textbook approach to economic 
development in the minds of some provincial officials.  The 
Provincial Council is very skeptical of privatization, influenced by 
their experiences with the Baghlan cement plant.  (The privatization 
process was poorly handled and is widely viewed has having been 
corrupt).  They expressed concern about the loss of jobs, as well as 
the political and economic influences of the Karzai family 
 
(President Karzais brother is CEO of the plant).  The PC's 
exprience with the cement plant has tainted their view as to the 
importance of private sector development to economic growth. 
 
Governance - A Financially Savvy, but Politically Inexperienced, 
Governor 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶8. (SBU) Governance in the province has suffered with the frequent 
rotation of governors (there have been four since 2005).  The new 
Baghlan governor, Abdul Jabar Haqbeen, assumed office at the 
beginning of January 2008.  He is from Baghlan's Nahreen district 
and graduated from Kabul University's Economics Faculty.  He began 
his career in the banking sector in Kabul, before serving most 
recently as a finance officer in Baghlan and Kunduz.  He is allied 
with the Melat party, and his patron in Kabul is Finance Minister 
Ahadi.  Haqbeen's youth (he is 30) and his lack of political 
experience may challenge his stated goals o bringing ethnic 
harmony, security and projects to the province.  Haqbeen's mixed 
Tajik/Pashtun parentage, however, may assist him in representing the 
various ethnicities and regional geographic interests. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Tajiks, Pashtuns, Uzbeks, and Hazara are represented in 
Baghlan's PC, although there is a slight Tajik overrepresentation 
compared to the population.  Three PC members are mullahs.  The PC 
chairman is the charming and well-spoken Mawlawi Sirajudin Seerat, 
who tends to be critical of the Karzai government.  The PC is 
concerned with maximizing donor assistance and articulating the 
population's concerns about job opportunities and security. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The mayor of Pol-e Khomri, Mohammad Safar, is originally 
from Baghlan's Farang district.  He graduated from Kabul 
University's engineering faculty and worked in a variety of 
government offices and state-owned enterprises before becoming mayor 
in July 2007.  Safar has focused on municipal service delivery and 
has a budget of approximately USD 1 million.  He is particularly 
focused on paving the city's streets.  Following a recent fire in 
the city, he requested international assistance with the procurement 
of fire fighting equipment.  (Several municipalities in northeast 
Afghanistan have requested assistance in this regard.) 
 
WOOD