There is concern among ordinary people that the nightmare of the ’90s may be coming back to haunt with jihadist leaders dreaming of their own tribal armies.
Abul Fatah, a resident of Kabul, remembers how the war between mujahedin factions had destroyed the Afghan capital. The city was carved up between rival armed groups. Peace was restored only when Taleban fighters fought their way to power in 1996, starting another chapter in the long drawn war in the country.
In 2001, US forces ousted the Taleban, and for the last 14 years, people were living under the rule of law.
However, Nafisa Feroz, a civil society activist, thinks history will not repeat itself in Kabul because the current situation is very different. In her opinion it is the responsibility of all people to support national institutions including forces that are connected to the government. “In the event of a security problem in any part of the country, it is the responsibility of all citizens even jihadist leaders to support the security forces and ensure security in their areas.”
Instead, there have been calls for local self-defence groups particularly from the northern provinces. The first to raise the issue in public was General Abdul Saboor Nasrati, police chief of Kunduz, who welcomed the idea of establishing a militia to counter armed opponents of the government.
The general told the AP news agency that tribal militias, which fought alongside security forces, were successful. There are some 4,000 armed supporters of former jihadist commanders who are fighting against the Taleban in Kunduz.
When he visited Kunduz, Ahmad Zia Massoud, special envoy of President Ashraf Ghani had praised the cooperation between former mujahedin and security forces.
Thereafter other tribal leaders who have prominent positions in the national unity government have voiced support for self-defence. General Rashid Dostum, the first vice-president, in Faryab, Salahudin Rabani, the minister of foreign affairs, in Badakhshan, Ata Mohammad Noor, the acting governor of Balkh, and Mohammad Mohaqeq who called for the distribution of weapons to the public in Kabul for their self-defence.
Everywhere spiralling insecurity is the justification for the demand for local self-defence groups. There is widespread fear that Badakhshan may become a second Waziristan (in Pakistan) even as security in Balkh gets worse, and Faryab is besieged by armed groups. According to reports, local police linked to Hazaras were killed in Jalrez district because they did not get help from security forces.
Revival of tribal power?
The claim of self-defence is one side of the coin. On the other may be the wish to regain power lost to the state. Political analyst Matiaullah Kharoti believes the re-arming of former mujahidin would be against the law. “Some of them are transgressors of the law, and want to cooperate with the Afghan forces to gain legitimacy,” he says.
Tawasoli Ghergistani recalls the establishing of tribal militia groups was part of Afghan history from the time of the Soviet occupation of the country to the Taleban regime, and responsible for most of the present day problems.
Meanwhile, Parliament has rejected a draft law by some jihadist leaders and said it did not benefit national interests and would be unlawful.
Nazir Ahmadzai, second deputy of parliament said General Dostum, Ata Mohammad Noor and Mohammad Mohaqeq should have sought to strengthen the security forces instead of joining together to create militia.
“General Dostum is not only a northern leader, he is first vice president. My expectation from Ata Mohammad Noor is that we have a security forces that include the national army, national police and national department of security. We should strengthen and support them, not form militia groups,” he said.
Meanwhile, the office of the chief executive has defended the draft law on the militia, and described it as beneficial to the people. Jawed Faisal, assistant spokesperson to Abdullah Abdullah, said the government is seeking to counter opposition to the idea. “The Afghan government would support any effort to improve security. General Dostum and Ata Mohammad Noor themselves are part of the government. They have the responsibility to counter terrorism,” he said.
Self defence?
Head of media and communications in the vice president’s office Sultan Faizi has said Dostum was not leaning towards creating militia but rather looking at ways of self defence against the current threats. “It is not correct to say General Dostum is forming a militia force, he has always told in his statements that he does not want to establish parallel structures that are threats to government. Rather he is supporting people’s uprisings that they can defend their areas, not attack other areas.”
Meanwhile, on the record, officials say the government will never allow the forming of militia forces or support them. Sidiq Sidiqi, spokesperson in the Ministry of Interior Affairs has said the three national forces are the institutions that the government would support and any military action that would be launched would be under these.
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