VZCZCXRO4790
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #0526 0690654
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100654Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7654
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KABUL 000526 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
NSC FOR WOOD 
OSD FOR WILKES 
CG CJTF-101 POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM SNAR AF
 
SUBJECT: PANJSHIR: THE PROVINCE THAT WORKS - PART I 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Panjshir province is a unique success story within 
Afghanistan.  Having achieved unparalleled security, poppy-free 
status, and solid governance largely free from corruption, Panjshir 
has set the stage for further development, including roads and 
mining.  The Panjshiris have accomplished all of this with no 
Coalition forces other than the U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Team 
(PRT), no Afghan National Army (ANA), few NGOs, and limited 
resources from Kabul.  This cable addresses security and 
counter-narcotics in Panjshir, while Part II will address governance 
and development. 
 
SECURITY 
-------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In the second half of 2008, there were no significant 
security incidents in Panjshir.  The reasons for this unparalleled 
security, accomplished with no ANA or Coalition maneuver forces, 
include strong provincial leadership, rugged geography, 
mono-ethnicity (Tajik), and Panjshir's Mujahedeen culture.  This 
security starts at the only easily-accessible vehicular entrance to 
the province -- the "Lion's Gate."  Afghan National Police (ANP) 
carefully scrutinize vehicles passing through the gate, with random 
vehicle searches common.  Even nomadic Kuchis passing through the 
gate are required to individually register when entering and 
departing Panjshir.  At the heart of Panjshir's success is what the 
PRT calls the "neighborhood watch" -- an informal network of 
Mujahedeen, mullahs and ordinary villagers throughout the valley. 
They effectively function as the eyes and ears of the provincial ANP 
and National Directorate for Security (NDS).  The governor actively 
utilizes this network, transmitting word of security threats through 
Panjshir's 669 mosques, which then alert villagers to be especially 
vigilant. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Concerned over instability in several of the seven 
provinces that border Panjshir, Governor Bahlol would like to see an 
increase in the number of ANP in the province from the current 
authorization of 630 to at least 750.  Sufficient fuel for the ANP's 
vehicles remains an on-going problem, with ANP commanders regularly 
approaching the PRT for fuel.  While the governor is very much at 
home exercising leadership over the ANP and NDS in the valley, he 
has told the PRT he would not like any additional ANA in Panjshir 
beyond the few soldiers guarding MOD weapons stockpiles and a small 
ANA recruiting post presently in the province.  Unlike the ANP, most 
of whom are Panjshiri and act under the direction of the governor, 
ANA forces would be drawn from all over Afghanistan and would be 
operationally under the control of the central government. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Panjshir actively cooperates with UNAMA in the Disbandment 
of Illegally Armed Groups (DIAG) process, with the Anaba district 
declared Afghanistan's first "Peaceful District" under Phase IV of 
DIAG.  The governor has, however, complained that UNAMA is taking 
too long in providing the $300,000 in DIAG award money promised to 
Anaba, and said that other districts will not turn in additional 
weapons until UNAMA makes good on the money already promised.  While 
Governor Bahlol has on several occasions told the PRT that UNAMA has 
disarmed the Panjshiri Mujahedeen, this claim is effectively 
impossible to verify given the countless potential hiding places for 
weapons throughout the valley.  Furthermore, the governor has also 
clearly stated that Mujahedeen will defend the province against any 
potential Taliban attack, suggesting they still posses the means to 
do so. 
 
COUNTER-NARCOTICS 
----------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In recognition of its poppy-free status, Panjshir received 
$1.4 million in funding in 2008 under the Good Performance 
Initiative (GPI).  Panjshir elected to use the funds for the 
purchase of farm tractors, threshers and trailers, along with 
approximately 95,000 fruit trees, and seven green houses. 
Panjshir's poppy-free status was briefly in question in fall 2008 
when a PRT visit to a remote village exposed approximately two acres 
of poppies under cultivation.  The PRT reported the find to the 
governor, who immediately dispatched the provincial ANP commander 
along with approximately 40 ANP to the village to destroy the plants 
and arrest their cultivators.  A subsequent visit to the village 
confirmed that the poppies had in fact been eradicated. 
 
DELL