VZCZCXRO9722
RR RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #1339 1550611
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030611Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4209
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS KABUL 001339 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, EUR/RPM 
NSC FOR WOOD 
OSD FOR WILKES 
CENTCOM FOR CG CSTC-A, CG CJTF-101 POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ETRD EFIN PREL AF TI
SUBJECT: AY QANOOM: IS THE AFGHAN-TAJIK BORDER CROSSING POINT 
NECESSARY? 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Ay Qanoom is one of five official border crossings 
between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.  The Northern Alliance 
established a ferry service there in 2001 to import supplies to 
fight the Taliban; however, the rationale for its existence has 
since disappeared, especially given the opening of the new 
Afghan-Tajik bridge at Sher Khan Bandar.  The unreliable and limited 
capacity ferry currently exports 125 tons of Pakistani cement a day 
and imports next to nothing.  A more efficient use of the Afghan 
Customs and Border Police personnel would be closure of the port and 
re-allocation to more utilized facilities. 
 
¶2. (U) The Ay Qanoom border crossing is in Dascht-e Qala district of 
Takhar province in northeast Afghanistan, approximately 70 km from 
the provincial capital on unpaved road.  The ferry and 
border-crossing point opened in 2001 to supply the Northern 
Alliance.  With the fall of the Taliban, and the access to more 
convenient transportation routes, trade volume fell dramatically. 
Pakistani cement is currently the only exported product: 10-12 
trucks deliver approximately 125 tons per day to the ferry.  Nothing 
is currently imported.  The Afghan privately-run ferry was out of 
commission for three months due to mechanical problems and only 
re-opened with reduced capacity in April 2008.  The Tajik ferry 
stopped running several years ago.  Passengers and private vehicles 
may use the ferry; however, the traffic is minimal to non-existent. 
 
¶3. (U) On the Tajik side, the crossing is called Kokul, and is 
served by the Kokul Border Guard and Customs Service points near the 
town of Parkhar in the Hamodoni Border District.  The road network 
servicing the crossing is quite poor.  Embassy Dushanbe's Office of 
Defense Cooperation intends to renovate the Kokul Border Guard 
garrison, but not the crossing site.  Despite the infrastructure 
challenges of the site, the Tajiks continue to look for solutions to 
increase use of the port, including an impractical proposal to move 
the temporary bridge and the passenger ferry from Sher Khan Bandar 
to Ay Qanoom.  The Tajik interest in enhanced port operations is 
greater than the Afghan interest, given that they receive imports 
through the crossing. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Takhar Customs Office has tasked the Afghan Customs 
Director at the port to increase duty income.  The Afghan Customs 
Director and the Afghan Border Police Commissioner believe that an 
improved road network, a bridge and new facilities would result in 
greater trade, although it is unclear whether demand exists.  There 
was no request for USG assistance with these priorities; however, 
CSTC-A has a project on the FY2010 Supplemental list to build a 
border police facility at Ay Qanoom.  This project will construct 
administrative, billeting, dining and working dog facilities for the 
border police to support operations at the actual border crossing 
point. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Afghan Customs Director was unable to explain why 
traders would use the Ay Qanoom route as opposed to the new 
Afghan-Tajik bridge in Sher Khan Bandar.  He speculated that it 
might be easier to distribute the cement in the remote areas of 
Tajikistan from Ay Qanoom.  However, to reach Ay Qanoom from Kunduz, 
the Pakistani cement must travel five hours on unpaved, ungraveled 
roads as compared with the one-hour transit time from Kunduz to Sher 
Khan Bandar.  The actual amount of exported cement is insignificant 
when compared to the traffic at Sher Khan Bandar (less than 3% of 
total vehicle volume). 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Ay Qanoom border crossing has minimal trade volume and 
a terrible road network.  The Afghan customs and border police are 
far from external oversight, especially since the Afghan Border 
Brigade headquarters transferred from Takhar's provincial capital, 
Taloqan, to Mazar-e Sharif in Balkh province.  It may be worthwhile 
for the Afghan government to close Ay Qanoom and deploy its border 
police and customs personnel to other border crossings or posts 
along the border. 
 
¶7. (U) This report has been coordinated with Embassy Dushanbe. 
 
WOOD