VZCZCXRO0489
RR RUEHBW RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #1254/01 1430553
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220553Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4051
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
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RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001254 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, EUR/RPM 
NSC FOR WOOD 
OSD FOR SHIVERS 
CETCOM FOR CG CSTC-A, CG CJTF-101 POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: NANGARHAR POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: THE PARTIES 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and introduction:  In Nangarhar, the most 
influential political institutions are the Jihadi parties, which 
capitalize on bonds formed between Jihadi commanders and tribal 
leaders during the Mujahadin period of the 1990s.  In the fight 
against the Soviets, the Jihadi commanders provided material support 
to tribal leaders to win their loyalty.  The commanders also 
promoted themselves as the defenders of Islam, which won the 
affection of Nangarhar residents.  Tribal leaders now defer to the 
former Jihadi commanders and accept them as political leaders. 
Tribal shuras are also important, but tend to support former Jihadi 
leaders rather than driving the political agenda.  Loyalties to a 
particular commander trump political ideology when forming electoral 
coalitions.  Most Nangarhar political parties support President 
Karzai, but there are no formal alliances between these parties. 
The most influential parties in Nangarhar are as follows: 
 
HIA and HIK 
----------- 
¶2. (SBU) In Nangarhar, Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) and 
Hezb-e-Islami Khalis (HIK) factions, led by former Nangarhar and 
current Kabul Governor Din Mohammad, exercise the most influence. 
Both of these parties emerged from the original Hezb-e-Islami 
movement founded by Gulbuddin Hekmetyar (HIG). Hekmetyar's faction 
radicalized to oppose the presence of international forces in 
Afghanistan.  More moderate members of the movement supported the 
new Afghan leadership and formed a shura in the name of 
Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), which registered with the Ministry 
of Justice as a new political party.  However, in Nangarhar the 
connections remain strong, and HIA is still popularly known as HIG. 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Three Nangarharis -- Engineer Gaffar, Dr. Fazal Mohammad 
Ibrahimi (currently an advisor in the Public Health Ministry), and 
Mawlawi Attaullah Lodin (currently a parliamentarian) -- lead HIA in 
the eastern region and are members of the national HIA shura.  HIA 
enjoys strong support from the Nangarhar community.  It is the only 
party in the region to have established district level councils in 
all 22 Nangarhar districts, holding frequent public meetings all 
over the province. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Although it sprang from the same movement, the Khalis 
faction of Hezb-e-Islami (HIK) has opposed Hekmetyar since early in 
the Mujahadin period.  When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, HIK 
split into two factions: the extremist group led by Younas Khalis, 
which continued to support the Taliban, while the more moderate 
faction led by the late Haji Qadir fought against them.  After the 
Taliban's fall, Qadir's faction supported the new government, seized 
control of the Nangarhar government, and worked with coalition 
forces (although the relationship was often rocky).  The Nangarhar 
Jihadi Shura installed Qadir as Nangarhar Governor in 2001.  He then 
moved to Kabul to become the Public Works Minister and Second Vice 
President during the transitional government. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Qadir was the key HIK leader until 2002 when he was 
assassinated in Kabul.  After Qadir's death, his brother Haji Din 
Mohammad took the lead of the party and became governor of 
Nangarhar.  Presently Din Mohammad runs the national leadership of 
this moderate faction through a shura located in Nangarhar.  Dr. 
Asef Qazizada, one of the shura members, is the eastern region HIK 
focal point and public face of the party in Nangarhar. 
 
¶6. (SBU) After the split, Khalis's faction remained opposed to the 
new government and involved in insurgent activities.  Khalis issued 
a fatwa saying jihad should be waged against the new Afghan 
Government and coalition forces.  Khalis's son Anwar ul Haq Mujaheed 
now leads this extremist faction, called the Tora Bora Front. 
Although well known in the province, they announced a boycott of the 
government, do not participate in elections, and are widely 
recognized as an insurgent group.  The Tora Bora Front is most 
influential in southwest Nangarhar in the Khogyani tribal area. 
 
Northern Alliance 
----------------- 
¶7. (SBU) In Nangarhar, the Naween and Jamiat-e-Islami parties 
compete during elections, but both actively support the United Front 
(which is locally seen as simply the reincarnation of the Northern 
Alliance) and in local politics are seen as one entity.  Ethnic 
tensions and tribal loyalties dominate the relationship between 
these two parties and others in Nangarhar.  The United Front does 
 
KABUL 00001254  002 OF 003 
 
 
not have wide support in Nangarhar, but most Pashaii from the north 
of the province (who are ethnically and linguistically distinct from 
Pashtuns) support the Northern Alliance.  Only small numbers of 
Nangarhar Pashtun support the Northern Alliance. 
 
¶8. (SBU) When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Jamiat-e-Islami 
formed an active resistance force in the region, with the Pashaii 
Hazrat Ali and the Mohmand Pashtun Shahzada Mazlumyar at the head of 
the party.  During the Taliban period, Hazrat Ali, a Pashaii 
commander from northern Nangarhar, led the Northern Alliance forces 
in Nangarhar.  After the Taliban's fall, he remained the Alliance's 
regional head and led the Jamiat-e-Islami in the eastern region. 
Leading up to the 2004 presidential election, Hazrat Ali threw his 
support to Qanooni's new Naween Party. 
 
Sayaf Party 
----------- 
¶9. (SBU) The Hezb-e-Tanzemi Dawat-e-Islami Afghanistan (Sayaf Party) 
is a former Jihadi party.  The party's Nangarhar influence is mostly 
centered in Shinwari districts in southeast Nangarhar and Chaparhar 
District south of Jalalabad.  Previously, the party's influence was 
limited in Nangarhar, but it is now on the rise.  The late Abdul 
Halim Malingyar, who was a powerful commander from the southeast of 
the province, was the party's regional head until his death in 2007. 
 Haji Awal Khan took over as the regional head of the party after 
Malingyar's death.  Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, one of Malingyar's 
proteges and the Nangarhar Provincial Council Chairman, is the 
party's provincial head and is the most active party leader in the 
eastern region.  His success in gaining the Provincial Council 
leadership is largely responsible for the party's increasing 
influence.  The Sayaf Party strongly supports President Karzai, but 
may now be hedging its bets. 
 
Afghan Millat Party 
------------------- 
¶10. (SBU) The Pashtun-nationalist Afghan Millat is not a Jihadi 
party and is thus less reliant on personal loyalties to its 
leadership for influence.  Engineer Gul Hussein and Malim Gul 
Mohammad lead the party in Nangarhar, but are not seen as 
individually influential.  Most Afghan Millat members in Nangarhar 
support the party out of a sense of Pashtun identity.  Nangarhar 
Afghan Millat members tend to support the idea that Pashtuns should 
dominate Afghan politics and feel a close affinity to the Awami 
National Party (ANP) from Pakistan, although Nangarhar party 
officials claim there is no formal link with the Pakistani party. 
Although Afghan Millat enjoys some support in all tribal areas, it 
is mainly influential in northeastern Nangarhar.  The party's center 
of support is among the Mohmand tribe, which mostly occupies the 
northeast and central portions of Nangarhar and overlaps the border 
with Pakistan into the Mohmand Agency of the Federally Administered 
Tribal Area.  Teachers and the education establishment strongly 
support Afghan Millat in Nangarhar. 
 
PDPA 
---- 
¶11. (SBU) The leftist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan 
(PDPA) is fractured in Nangarhar, but appears to be experiencing a 
resurgence.  Nangarhar residents perceive that much of the Afghan 
security forces' leadership is sympathetic to the PDPA although not 
formally affiliated with this party.  Most of the PDPA support is 
centered in Jalalabad, although there are small pockets of support 
scattered throughout the province. 
 
New to the Scene 
---------------- 
¶12. (SBU) Two new parties may prove influential in the coming 
elections: 
 
-- Hezb-e-Jamhori Afghanistan (Republican Party of Afghanistan), 
with Provincial Council Deputy Chairman Mawlawi Abdul Aziz as the 
provincial head, launched in March 2008.  The party's main 
constituency is the Ulema (Islamic religious scholars) community. 
It is firmly supporting President Karzai.  Behind the scenes, 
Governor Sherzai is supporting this party (his Mahaz-e-Mili Party 
enjoys little support in Nangarhar, probably because it is 
associated with southern tribal Pashtuns). 
 
-- The Sole Carwan (Peace Caravan), founded by Haji Qadir's son Haji 
Zahir, launched in May 2008.  Zahir claims he aims to create a party 
 
KABUL 00001254  003 OF 003 
 
 
of rejuvenation, focusing on youth development.  He uses this 
platform to oppose openly Governor Sherzai and has stated that he 
and his party will oppose President Karzai in the upcoming 
elections. 
 
One to Watch: Awami National Party 
---------------------------------- 
¶13. (SBU) With their recent success in the Pakistani parliamentary 
elections, many Nangarhar political players are reaching out to the 
Awami National Party (ANP).  For example, Haji Zahir sent a 
delegation of influential elders to Peshawar to extend Nangarhar's 
congratulations on the ANP's success in the recent Pakistani 
elections.  The ANP has a natural following in Nangarhar.  It widely 
supports traditional Pashtun cultural celebrations in Nangarhar, 
such as poetry readings and festivals, which endears the party to 
the local populace.  Although its founder Ghafar Khan Pacha lived in 
Peshawar, Pakistan, he refused to be buried there and was interred 
in Jalalabad during the communist government under Najibullah.  The 
ANP holds an annual gathering in Jalalabad to commemorate Ghafar 
Khan's burial.  They announced in 2007 they would form a foundation, 
called the Ghafar Khan Welfare Trust, to assist in Nangarhar 
reconstruction.  The party has two acknowledged and close allies in 
Nangarhar -- Afghan Millat and the former communists -- although 
they claim no official links.  Najibullah's government openly 
provided financial support to the ANP during the communist regime in 
return for information and support on the Pakistan side of the 
border.  Local residents speculate that the Nangarhar intelligence 
services maintain these old contacts for the same reasons today. 
People also speculate that Governor Sherzai has indirect contacts 
with the ANP, although he publicly denies this and has been feuding 
with ANP leaders since his days in exile in Quetta. 
 
WOOD