{"id":3288,"date":"2009-12-24T21:13:48","date_gmt":"2009-12-24T21:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=3288"},"modified":"2009-12-24T21:19:57","modified_gmt":"2009-12-24T21:19:57","slug":"five-questions-an-interview-with-chief-ajmal-khan-zazai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=3288","title":{"rendered":"Five Questions: An Interview with Chief Ajmal Khan Zazai"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Those of you who also regularly read Steven Pressfield’s<\/strong> site, It’s the Tribes, Stupid<\/strong> <\/a>have come across his interview series with Ajmal Khan Zazai<\/strong><\/a>, elected paramount tribal chief of his home district in the Zazi valley<\/strong> of\u00a0Paktia province<\/strong> <\/a>in Afghanistan<\/strong> ( near Tora Bora<\/strong> and bordering Pakistani Waziristan<\/strong>). Chief Zazai fought in the Soviet War and at one time, was imprisoned by Pakistan’s ISI. O<\/strong>n March 15, 2000, the Taliban<\/strong> assassinated Chief Zazai’s father, Chief Raiss Afzal Khan Zazai<\/strong> in his family house in Peshawar<\/strong>, Pakistan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As paramount chief, Chief Zazai\u00a0raised\u00a0a Tribal Police Force<\/strong> that is\u00a0presently working with the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division<\/strong> to secure the Zazi valley.\u00a0Chief Zazai’s force has come under attack, as insurgents have fought to stop his efforts. \u00a0His\u00a0commander, Amir Muhammad,<\/strong> has personally survived several assassination attempts in the last several months. On two occasions in 2008,\u00a0warlord-financed hit men attempted\u00a0to assassinate\u00a0Chief\u00a0Zazai.\u00a0One attack nearly succeeded, leaving\u00a0several wounded and one man\u00a0dead\"zazai.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Steve cordially arranged for me to ask Chief Zazai a few questions via email\u00a0regarding his perspective on the historical background of the war against the Taliban and the current situation in Afghanistan. My questions are in bold type and Chief Zazai’s answers are in normal text:<\/p>\n

FIVE QUESTIONS: AN INTERVIEW WITH CHIEF AJMAL KHAN ZAZAI:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Some American academics have argued that the day of “the tribe”\u00a0is long past in Afghanistan, having been battered by governmental intrusion and war since at least 1978, and that a better understanding of Afghan identity for Americans is to look at the “Qaum” and other very local loyalties. How accurate is that description?:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Qaum” means “Tribe” in Pashtu\u00a0and also\u00a0in the\u00a0Dari Language.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 1978 coup was not the first bloody revolution Afghanistan saw, as I have said on many occasions, Afghanistan has gone through many turmoils and turbulences throughout its history and has survived as a nation\u00a0and country. For one to get convinced that after the 1978 Red revolution that\u00a0the tribal structure was gone for good, then one would also have to argue how this tribal structure survived till 1978 when Ghengis Khan burned almost half of Afghanistan? \u00a0What about Hulagu Khan, Tamerlane, the Persian empire, the Mughals\u00a0and prior to all that Alexander the Great? [The tribes ] having seen all these bloody empires and survive untill 1978 is amazing, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

To justify the argument simply by referring to the 1978 bloody Red revolution\u00a0and claim the tribal structure was gone, is dead\u00a0and has vanished in Afghanistan, would simply be ignorance\u00a0and a\u00a0lack of understanding of the rich Afghan culture and Afghan way of life.<\/p>\n

The Bonn Agreement <\/a>appointed Hamid Karzai for 6 months as an interim President of Afghanistan back in 2002. When 6 months passed, did the UN or US call for election? No, of course not. Who\u00a0then who appointed Mr. Karzai as a President for 2nd time to be the President of the transitional government? It was the “Loya Jirga” and not through the election process. A\u00a0Loya Jirga is a pure Afghan Tribal process\u00a0and procedure of making things happen!<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at how the current\u00a0Afghan Constitution was approved\u00a0 and came into an effect:<\/p>\n

The constitution of Afghanistan was not approved by the Afghan Parliament\u00a0and Senate as the\u00a0Parliament\u00a0and Senate did not exist at the time. In fact the constitution\u00a0was approved by the “Loya Jirga”; although there was a large presence of the Warlords\u00a0and criminals in both those Loya Jirgas,\u00a0nevertheless they\u00a0served their purpose.<\/p>\n

Now, why would one argue that the tribal structure does not exist in Afghanistan\u00a0or it’s a thing of the past? Closing our eyes from the truth does not mean the truth would vanish. We have a phrase in Pashto which means “One can not hide the sun with just two fingers”.<\/p>\n

If one believes they need to find local loyalties in Afghanistan, the locals are the tribes. Why would some go around in [semantic] circles and confuse themselves?\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 In your interviews with Steve Pressfield, you discussed the presence of warlords in the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai, men with very bad records.\u00a0 There have also been reports in the media, from time to time, of Ex-Khalqi Communists <\/a>serving the regime. Are these men a similar problem to the warlords in your view?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the Russians withdrew their forces in 1989 and left behind\u00a0the Communist regime of Dr Najibullah, many thought that the regime would collapse in just days or in weeks, but\u00a0Najibullah’s government\u00a0survived for\u00a0five long years despite the daily rains of rocket attacks on Kabul and only collapsed in 1992. Then the so-called Mujahideen took charge of Kabul\u00a0and Afghanistan, but soon we saw that these power hungry men started fighting each other over the Throne of Kabul. Their bloody civil war of lasted from 1992 untill 1996 and turned Afghanistan into a pile of rubble.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Many Afghans were turned against these so-called Mujahideen because these leaders\u00a0and their commanders became involved in killing innocent men, women\u00a0and children, looted people’s livelihoods and literally\u00a0turned all of Afghanistan into a war zone. We witnessed that in just\u00a0five years these “Mujahideen”\u00a0warlords destroyed Kabul and all other major cities in Afghanistan. People started to hate them more than they hated the old\u00a0Communists, so in a way, the crimes which were initially committed by the Communists were covered up when the Afghan people witnessed the subsequent\u00a0brutality of these so-called Mujahideen leaders and commanders.<\/p>\n

I strongly believe the Afghan civil war was also orchestrated by the\u00a0 KGB\/FSB in order to engage these Freedom fighters in Afghanistan\u00a0and prevent them from crossing over to\u00a0infiltrate the [formerly Soviet]\u00a0Central Asian States, and\u00a0also to cover the atrocities committed by the Red Army against the Afghans in Afghanistan. The KGB\/FSB calculated\u00a0shrewdly that if these “Mujahideen” leaders accomplished a united\u00a0Islamic government in Afghanistan, it would spill over into the entire Central Asian countries. Although many believed in the West at the time that Russia was almost finished and gone, that was a mistake\u00a0Westerners\u00a0made in trying to understand the Russian mind set.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I strongly believe that the Afghan Communists are responsible for the destruction of Afghanistan. They still have the Marxist-Leninist theory in their heads and we recently have witnessed that many of these Afghan ex-Communists are keeping close ties to Moscow. I believe these Khalqis\u00a0and Parchamis are now part of the problem as they are now receiving support from Russia. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Afghanis, especially Pushtuns, have a well-deserved historical reputation as fierce fighters.\u00a0 Yet there is more to life than war, even in a warrior society. What does a young Afghan man in his late teens or twenties hope for?\u00a0 What would he see as “progress” or better times?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much is been said about the Afghans, Pashtuns in the media and honestly I disagree with much of it because no nation, no tribe no people wish for a war as war only brings devastation, destruction and miseries.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Afghans are great fighters, but that does not mean they wish for a war all their life. We needed to fight against the Russian invasion and I still strongly believe we have done the right thing defending our country and nation against\u00a0Communism; as I said earlier, things went wrong when these so-called Mujahideen or Freedom fighters leaders started fighting one another. I believe every Afghan wishes for peace and stability in Afghanistan. Yes there are some who will continue fighting, but we all know they are small in numbers and are not significant. The reason many young men are part of the Taliban\u00a0and other\u00a0insurgents is the lack of employment , lack of better life conditions and of course lack of any positive attention from their government in Kabul. At this moment if you ask me, why are these young men are turning to Taliban\u00a0and are fighting the US, NATO\u00a0and the\u00a0Afghan government? You will hear a simple answer from me and that is lack of employment opportunity for these youth who are mostly uneducated.<\/p>\n

I will tell you my own experience: I was only 16 when I used to go to Afghanistan from Pakistan from\u00a0time to time to fight against the Russians. I knew the consequences of being killed, but I was not going to Afghanistan in order to be killed, I was going to Afghanistan to fight the Russians. Now things are opposite, many young men are brainwashed by evil men and these young men wish to die, that’s why there are many suicide attacks now. I remember very well in my days when we were busy fighting the Russians, that we never had suicide bombers. This is very new to us and it\u00a0has been brought form outside Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

I believe the Afghan government\u00a0and the US\/NATO should provide training programmes to all those young Afghan men at around age of 16 and above who have lost the chance to go to school and get education. By learning skilled trades,\u00a0I believe they will be in a position to earn a loaf of bread for themselves and their family and in this way we will prevent many young men\u00a0from falling in the trap of believing being a suicide bomber means a\u00a0life in the hereafter\u00a0with the 72 virgins which will await them at the corridor of heaven.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 You have spoken at length with Steve Pressfield about the 10th<\/sup> Mountain Division and your positive relationship with them.\u00a0 How successful have American and NATO units been in making connections elsewhere with Afghan tribal leaders compared to the 10th<\/sup> Mountain Division?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do not have any information to the regard that if the US Army has any close contacts with other Tribal leaders. In my case, I have pushed hard for this partnership, regardless of any obstacles that\u00a0were created for us to even have a decent understanding, but now it seems to be working. In the entire Afghanistan, I am the first Tribal Leader who denounced the Taliban and Al Qaeda openly and more practically, by forming TPF (Tribal Police Force) from my Tribesmen to fight these evil men without any financial assistance from the US Army, US Government, NATO\u00a0or the\u00a0Afghan Government. My TPF programme is by the people and for the people – I think it is on the same lines of your democracy “By the people\u00a0and for the people”!<\/p>\n

5). A friend of mine, the strategist Thomas PM Barnett, has been advocating a much greater international presence in Afghanistan<\/a>, including not just NATO but China, Russia and India, with direct business investment as well as providing military and civilian aid workers. Would this development be a welcome one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe this is a positive step in bringing a broader coalition and the entire International community to help and be involved in Afghanistan; but although this approach might be purely for business purposes, it could pose a future\u00a0problem as most of these nations are not very sure of the US\u00a0and NATO policy in the\u00a0long term and present intentions. Afghanistan has always maintained very good\u00a0and close relations with India, and throughout this friendship, India had no political ambitions and that what made India look good until the 90’s when India supported the Northern alliance.\u00a0[As a result]\u00a0I believe India has lost that status of being\u00a0a neutral friend of Afghanistan. Also, the growing presence of Indians in Afghanistan is sending some disturbing alarms to our immediate neighbor (Pakistan).<\/p>\n

Things needs to be\u00a0balanced and\u00a0Afghanistan needs a\u00a0better understanding [of FDI] and\u00a0not just bringing in\u00a0anyone which could only lead to disruption and anxiety in long term. As an example, the large copper mines in Logar Province were won in a biding by a Chinese company –\u00a0later it was revealed that the Chinese paid large kick backs to the minister of mines. In my opinion, involving more Chinese and Russian corporations would mean more corruption in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Russian firms are already involved in Afghanistan. Most of them are involved in espionage and there are Chinese corporations and I believe they are doing the same. It would be more fruitful [for Afghans] for your friend to encourage Western corporations and companies to invest in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Chief Zazai<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those of you who also regularly read Steven Pressfield’s site, It’s the Tribes, Stupid have come across his interview series with Ajmal Khan Zazai, elected paramount tribal chief of his home district in the Zazi valley of\u00a0Paktia province in Afghanistan ( near Tora Bora and bordering Pakistani Waziristan). Chief Zazai fought in the Soviet War […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[527,205,20,126,471,199,595,499,492,465,39,372,502,131,268,594,212,312,18,217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afghanistan","category-al-qaida","category-coin","category-counterinsurgency","category-cultural-intelligence","category-insurgency","category-interview","category-islamic-world","category-leadership","category-legitimacy","category-military","category-non-state-actors","category-pakistan","category-security","category-social-networks","category-steven-pressfield","category-suicide-bombing","category-tribes","category-war","category-warriors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}