Doubts Over Afghan Police Loyalties

Despite a new survey indicating a rise in public confidence in the Afghan National Police, ANP, observers warn that the force’s loyalties remain divided, and this could pose a security threat once NATO forces withdraw in 2014.

Research carried out by the Afghan Centre for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research, ACSOR and the United Nations Development Programme indicates that 81 per cent of respondents felt respect for the law-enforcement agencies, a rise of eight percentage points from three years ago.

Local observers warn that despite the ANP’s apparently improved reputation, real concerns about its loyalties and cohesion persist.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a politician who currently chairs the Afghan Transition Coordination Commission dealing with the security handover from NATO to Afghan troops, said he was very dissatisfied with the police service, particularly in the north of the country.

“Police have been recruited on the basis of partisan, ethnic, and factional connections in the north,” he said, adding that once in uniform, their loyalties remained to their interest groups rather than to the public. “The police serve partisan, ethnic and parliamentary officials rather than the public. They take instructions from those who appointed them, and if they don’t do what they want, they will be fired.”

Ahmadzai said while the Afghan National Army had made some progress in recent years, “I am more worried and concerned about the police; that mistreatment by them could jeopardise the [handover] process because they interact closely with the public,” he said.

The ANP currently numbers around 150,000 officers, and tens of millions of dollars have been spent on forming and training the force, with particular input from the German and United States governments.

In northern Afghanistan in particular, many agree with Ahmadzai’s suggestion that factional allegiances remain strong.

Farid Ahmad Nurzai, a resident of the Dehdadi district of Balkh province, said that although he was happy Afghan forces were taking over from NATO, the current state of the ANP reminded him of the warlords and militias of the early 1990s.

Many Afghans fear a return to the civil war, in which armed factions committed major abuses amid general chaos and lawlessness.

“We can see that all the old militia members from Jamiat-e Islami and Junbesh-e Milli have been recruited either into local police units or to the ANP,” he said

Nurzai said the outlook would be dire unless a real national police force that rose above factional interests was forged.

A police officer in the north, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that ANP units across the region were divided along partisan lines.

In Balkh province, they were linked to the mainly Tajik faction Jamiat-e Islami, whereas in neighbouring Jowzjan province they were Uzbek and loyal to Junbish-e Milli. In Sarepul and Samangan, control of ANP units was divided among Junbesh, Jamiat, and the Hazara faction Wahdat-e Islami.

He claimed that the interior ministry was “filtering out policemen from other groups, the Pashtuns in particular”.

According to Balkh resident, Fahim Sarwari, “The current police are the former militia members, just with a change of uniform.”

Sarwari said the presence of international forces had ensured that the ANP more or less kept to the law, but a NATO exit could lead to a return of the chaos of the civil war era, with the police presenting a threat to civilians instead of protecting them.

Interior ministry spokesman Seddiq Seddiqi insists ANP appointments are made on the basis of merit, not political affiliation.

“Although some officials, including members of parliament, do lobby for certain individuals to be appointed to posts, the interior minister has never heeded any unsound recommendation,” he said.

Seddiqi said that the ministry was planning to start moving ANP officers to different provinces to encourage a nationwide sense of loyalty.

Another police officer in the north, however, said the ANP lacked the kind of disciplined management that would curb ethnic, linguistic and regional affiliations, build morale in the force, and forge a sense of national cohesion.

Claims that the interior ministry system was a meritocracy, he said, were “an absolute lie”.

Political analyst Abdul Wakil agreed that the former militia leaders still exerted more influence over police officers than ANP commanders or government ministers.

“How, then, can the nation trust this police force?” he asked.

Ahmad Javed Reja is an IWPR-trained reporter in Balkh province, Afghanistan.