US embassy cable - 05KABUL4988

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 004988 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND 
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFA-A, CG CJTF-76 
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, KDEM, AF 
SUBJECT: PRT/GHAZNI: PROVINCIAL COUNCIL BEGINS WORK 
 
REF: KABUL 4708 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR RONALD NEUMANN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: Members of Ghazni's recently seated 
Provincial Council met cordially on December 3, their 
second official meeting since a contentious election for 
Council officers and Meshrano Jirga members.  Council 
members agreed that the main purpose of the Council is to 
keep the Provincial Administration accountable to the 
people they represent, and to ensure that development funds 
are distributed evenly.  The Council has already requested 
work plans from key provincial departments (health, 
education, power, etc.), and will review these plans to see 
whether they treat all districts fairly.  The Council also 
plans to form sub-committees which will travel around the 
province to survey actual needs.  In spite of the 
collegiality of today,s meeting, given the Council,s tense 
beginnings it is likely further disputes will erupt along 
ethnic lines as the Council deals with the reality of 
scarce resources which must meet the needs of both Pashtun 
and Hazara areas.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) DOS Rep met December 3 with twelve of the nineteen 
members of the recently seated Provincial Council, 
including Chair Engineer Nafisa, vice-chair Ustad 
Habiburrahman, and Meshrano Jirga nominee Dr. Abdul Ahmad 
Zahedi Niqala.  In spite of a contentious process to elect 
Council officers and delegates to the Meshrano Jirga 
(REFTEL), the Provincial Council members present seemed 
relaxed and at ease with each other.  They took turns 
discussing their individual goals and the overall purpose 
of the Provincial Council, which they agreed is to make the 
Provincial Administration accountable and transparent to 
average citizens and to ensure development funds are 
distributed equitably.  The meeting included a mix of 
Hazaras, Pashtuns, and the one Tajik on the Council. 
 
COUNCIL'S WORK PLAN 
=================== 
 
3. (U) The Council has now met twice since the November 21 
session at which they elected two representatives to the 
Meshrano Jirga.  The first session was to discuss their 
work plan and assign initial tasks; the second, on December 
3, was to discuss the needs of refugee returnees.  In 
keeping with what it sees as its responsibility to ensure 
fair distribution of development resources, the Council has 
requested one-year work plans from key provincial 
departments (health, education, power, etc.), and will 
review these plans to see whether they treat all districts 
fairly.  The Council has already reviewed the recent 
records and plans of the Department of Power & Electricity. 
The Council plans to form multi-ethnic sub-committees 
focusing on areas such as health, education, and human 
rights, which will travel around the province to survey 
actual needs.  The Council members have not yet set a 
schedule of meetings for the coming months. 
 
LOGISTICS & EQUIPMENT: 
====================== 
 
4. (U) The Provincial Administration has ensured that the 
Council has the basic requirements to begin work.  The 
Council is currently using three offices in the Public 
Works building, across the street from th Governor's 
Office.  The Governor has provided two clerical staff, and 
the Council has received two old Russian jeeps which UNAMA 
left behind when they departed Ghazni after the September 
elections.  The Council also has one computer donated by 
UNAMA. 
 
5. (U) However, remaining needs are many.  Currently there 
are no drivers for the two UNAMA-donated vehicles, and none 
of the Council members or staff has the skills to use the 
computer.  (NOTE:  PRT plans a computer course for 
provincial officials over the winter, and will invite 
Council staff to attend.  END NOTE.)  The Provincial 
Administration has requested additional support staff from 
the Ministry of Interior, including a cook, drivers, and 
security personnel. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA 
================= 
 
6. (C) Biographical information on the members who 
attended today's meeting follows: 
 
A.  ENGINEER NAFISA AZIMI:  Engineer Nafisa, the chair of 
the Council, is about thirty-five years old and comes from 
the Hazara district of Jaghuri.  She ran for a general 
seat, and received the most votes of any Provincial Council 
member, an impressive accomplishment for a woman.  (When 
PRT visited Jaghuri and neighboring districts in October, 
posters of Engineer Nafisa were plastered in almost every 
village we visited.)  Nafisa, a slight and quiet woman who 
nonetheless seems to command respect, has degrees in law 
and in building construction from Kabul University.  She 
listed her priorities as ensuring security, defending 
Islamic law, increasing the budget of the district 
governments proportionate to population, and supporting 
women's rights and education.  (NOTE:  Some of these 
priorities are unrealistic given the limited legal powers 
and minimal budget of the Provincial Council.  END NOTE.) 
 
B.  USTAD HABIBURRAHMAN:  Habiburrahman, the vice-chair of 
the Provincial Council, is a steely-eyed middle-aged 
Pashtun from the restless eastern district of Andar.  He 
graduated from the Ghazni Teacher Training Institute, and 
has been a teacher in Kabul, Kandahar, and Zabul provinces. 
During the communist years, he lived in refugee camps in 
Pakistan. 
 
C.  DR. ABDUL AHMAD ZAHEDI NIQALA:  Dr. Ahmad, a middle- 
aged Hazara, received his medical degree from the 
University of Kabul.  He worked for some time for a clinic 
run by the Swedish Committee in Qarabagh District.  After 
that, he started his own practice in Qarabagh, and helped 
the mujahaddin during the jihad.  During the Taliban years, 
he lived in Iran.  He says his main goal for the Provincial 
Council is to stop bribery and corruption. 
 
D.  AHMAD ALI NASIRI:  Nasiri, a genial Hazara in his 60s 
who has been a PRT contact for some time, is a respected 
mullah from primarily Hazara Jaghuri District.  He studied 
Islamic studies in Iraq, and taught there for a time before 
returning to Ghazni Province, where he has taught religion 
for more than ten years.  He was a judge in Jaghuri for 
four years, and then was district governor for three years. 
In the November 3 meeting, he made a case that Jaghuri is 
large enough geographically and population-wise to be its 
own province, and that his main goal is to get the central 
government to recognize this fact.  The rest of the Council 
members jokingly said, "We don't want Jaghuri in Ghazni 
Province either." 
 
E.  MALIM MOHAMMAD RAHIM TARAKI:  Taraki, is a Pashtun of 
about 65 years who hails from Qarabagh District, where he 
teaches high school Pashto, history and social studies. 
 
F.  HAJI TAJ MOHAMMAD MOSA:  Taj Mohammad, a burly Pashtun 
in his 50s from Gelan District, graduated from high school 
in Ghazni and then went to Pakistan, where he joined the 
mujahaddin.  He said his major concerns for Ghazni Province 
are to stop corruption and ensure security. 
 
G.  DR. ABAAS ALI RAMOZI:  Ramozi, a middle-aged Hazara, 
graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Mazar-e-Sharif. 
He worked in the hospital in Mazar for several years.  When 
the Taliban took over, he came to Ghazni to work in the 
Swedish Committee clinic in Qarabagh. 
H.  MOHAMMAD ISMAEL MOMIN:  Momin, a 45-year-old Hazara 
from Malistan District, lived in Peshawar during the early 
jihad years.  He studied medicine and helped the 
mujahaddin.  He later returned to Ghazni and helped with a 
program that immunized children, until the Taliban took 
over and gave his job to one of their supporters. 
 
I.  ARIFA MADADI:  Madadi, a Hazara from Jaghatu District, 
graduated from the University of Mazar-e-Sharif with a 
degree in medicine and is now a surgeon.  She has worked in 
a hospital for three years. 
 
J.  MARZYAH RAHIMI:  Marzyah, a young Hazara woman, was 
born in Iran, where her father had moved during the jihad 
years.  She studied Islam in Iran, and taught there.  Her 
family returned to Ghazni just one year ago.  She said her 
goal on the Provincial Council is to educate about women's 
rights under Islam. 
 
K.  ZHOLINA FAIZI:  Faizi, the only Tajik on the Council, 
has been elected Secretary.  She has a law degree from 
Kabul University and worked for the Supreme Court before 
the Taliban took over.  During the Taliban years, she ran a 
girls school in her home.  When the Taliban left, she began 
working at Jan Malika High School in Ghazni, and is now 
vice-principal there.  She said her concerns are to make 
sure that the rights of "all people" are heard - which 
likely means she wants to make sure that the Tajik minority 
is not ignored. 
 
L.  BAKHT BIBI RAHIMI:  Bakht Bibi, an older Pashtun woman 
who arrived a few paces behind a male relative and seemed 
withdrawn during earlier Provincial Council sessions, was 
articulate when asked directly about her life experiences 
and her goals for the Provincial Council.  She said she 
graduated from high school in Kabul, and then moved to 
Pakistan, where she became a nurse.  She worked at a clinic 
in Muqur District for two years.  She spoke proudly about 
her greatest achievement - delivering quintuplets, all of 
whom survived.  She said her priorities are women's rights 
and health issues. 
NEUMANN