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| Governor Gulab Mangal |
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Provincial Overview (PDF)
Helmand Province is located in southern Afghanistan. Helmand borders Baluchistan in the south, Kandahar and Uruzgan in the east, Nimroz in the west, and Farah and Ghor in the north. The topographyy is composed of deserts in the south, hills in the north, and the fertile Helman River Valley along the length of the province.
The population of over 1.4 million are primarily Pashtun with a Baluch minority in the south. Major tribal groups include Barakzai, Noorzai, Alokzai, and Eshaqzai. Primary occupations within Helmand are agriculture - namely poppy farming, which remains an Achilles Heal in developing a sustainable security apparatus.
Governor Gulab Mangal was appointed as Governor of Helmand on March 22, 2008. He was formerly governor of Paktika and Laghman provinces. Former Helmand governor Assadullah Wafa has been reassigned to the national government in Kabul.[1]
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Human Terrain:
Alakozai: The Alakozai (Alikozai; Alokzai) form the majority of the population in Sangin District. They belong to the Durrani confederation, and can be further divided into the Khalozai (or Khan Khel), the Yarizai, the Surkani, the Kotezai, the Dadozai, the Khanizai, the Daolatzai (which are also found in the North of Afghanistan due to forced relocations in centuries previous), the Nasozai, and the Bashozai. The Alokzai people stretch from Farah to Kandahar, constitute a majority in the Arghandab District of Kandahar
Alizai: The Alizai mainly inhabit the North of Helmand, particularly Baghran, Musa Qala, Naw Zad, and Kajaki districts. They form a major branch of the Panjpay Durrani Pashtuns with two main sub-tribes, Jalozai and Hasanzai. Clashes between the Jalozai and Hasanzai have been a major source of tension in northern Helmand province. Present Governor Sher Mohammad Akhundzada is Jalozai while Abdul Wahid, a major figure in Baghran district, Helmand province is Hasanzai. The feud between Abdul Wahid and the father of Sher Mohammad dates back to the Jihad period.
Baluch: The Baluch, thought to number over a million in Afghanistan, are an Indo-Iranian ethnic group spread over Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Significant numbers also exist abroad. In Pakistan, Baluchi independence groups have look fought with Islamabad over the revenues from natural resources in Baluchistan. The capital of Pakistani Baluchistan is Quetta, where many of the Taliban are thought to have fled after their fall from power, but Kalat, further south, has traditionally been the seat of the Baluch Khans. The Baluch are overwhelmingly but not entirely Sunni Muslims. Their power-structures, based on the khan, are generally perceived to be more concentrated than those of the more fractious Pashtuns. In Afghanistan they are primarily nomadic, roaming the southernmost districts of the three southernmost provinces. In Helmand they are prominent in the Dishu and Garmseer districts. Baluch Tree (PDF)
Barakzai: The Barakzai Zirak Durranis mainly inhabit the East of Helmand, particularly Nahrisarraj, Lashkar Gah, and Naway-i Barakzai districts. They rose to prominence with Dost Mohammad Shah (the British East India Company’s adversary in the first Anglo-Afghan War) and furnished a string of kings through the current aspirant to the throne, Heir Apparent Ahmad Shah. Accordingly, they are one of the most respected tribes in the country.
Barech: The Barech Durrani Pashtuns mainly inhabit Dishu District. There appears to be little ethnographic literature on the Barech beyond the observations of some 19th and early 20th century British civil and military personnel (see Adamec, Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan, Vol. 5, Kandahar and South-Central Afghanistan” 1980, Akademische Druck-u.Verlaganstalt, Graz-Austria). Despite the Barech claims of Durrani kinship, there is reason to believe that the Barech have a different ethnic origin, perhaps Baloch, and transferred their ethnic/tribal identity during a shift in the power balance between the Kingdom of Afghanistan and the Emirate of Qalat.
Eshaqzai: Most numerous in the Northeast of Helmand, the Eshaqzai are strongest in Musa Qala, Sangin, and Nawzad. They are a subset of the Durrani confederation. There are also many in Farah and Herat provinces. They can be broken down into the Misrikhel (Khankhel), the Mandinzai, and the Hawazai. In the past, they were derogatorily referred to as “Sagzai,” or “vegetable people.”[2]
Kharoti: The Kharoti Powindah Ghilzais are Kuchi nomads. The Kharoti clan is the second largest Ghilzai Pashtun tribal group. Generally, they do not cooperate with anti-coalition militias or participate in their activities. Their political stance and support for the government is in part, at least, due to their rivalry with the Suleimankhel and the Waziris. Notable members of the Kharoti clan include Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Harakat, both of Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG). Overall, however, the Kharoti are not supportive of HIG. Former Paktika provincial governor, Ghulab Mangal, considered the Kharoti among the most reliable of Ghilzai tribal groups.[3]
Kuchis are most often Pashtuns, but occasionally some are of non-Pashtun ethnicity, such as Baluch. To be a Kuchi is not who one is, or what one does, but what one is. More than a vocation and less than a race, the Kuchi are more appropriately thought of as a caste of nomadic herdsmen. Their four main animals are sheep, goats, camels and donkeys. They cross boundaries with ease. They have a very high illiteracy rate.[4] Involved in a constant and centuries old range war with the Hazara, the Kuchis have moved across Afghanistan and Pakistan for generations. Dispersed and well-traveled, they often receive news from distant relations in far-away provinces relatively quickly. The self-declared “leader” of the Kuchis is one Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai. Partially settled by the king and the following socialist governments, they were strong supporters of the Taliban, both ideologically and pragmatically, as they came into possession of many Hazara lands thanks to the repression of the Shi’ite Hazara by the Taliban. There are estimated to be around three million Kuchi in Afghanistan, with at least 60% remaining fully nomadic and over 100,000 displaced in the South of Afghanistan due to drought in the past few years.[5]
Noorzai: The Noorzai Panjpai Durrani Pashtuns primarily inhabit Garmseer and Washer districts, in the Northwest and Southeast of the province. Although usually categorized and self-identified as Panjpay Durranis, many Zirak Durranis dismiss the Noorzai as Ghalji or Ghilzai, not Durrani at all. At this point in time, it is not clear whether this is a long-standing belief or has arisen out the turmoil of the past three decades, particularly the close partnership between the Noorzai and the Ghalji-dominated Taliban leadership. Given the numbers and importance of the Noorzai in the south, this attitude may have consequences for long-term tribal politics.
Suleimankhel: Part of the Ghilzai confederation, the Suleimankhel is one of the largest sub-tribes. The bias of some sub-tribes toward the Taliban in part may be explained by their proximity to the Pakistan border and the influx of insurgents and the radical politics. They have been allied with the Hotaki in the past, and their traditional rivals include the Karoti.[6]Principal sub-divisions of the Suleimankhel include the Alizai, Sulemanzai, and Jalalzai. Other sub-divisions include the Alikhel, the Nizamkhel, and the Shakhel. It is interesting to note that the Alikhel sub-tribe, which primarily lives in the northwest of Paktika, has been more cooperative with the central government and coalition forces. The Nizamkhel and Shakhel also remain more supportive of the government, which may be explained in part by their rivalry with the Jalalzai.[7] Suleimankhel Tree (PDF)
Security Landscape:
General Level of Security: Security in Helmand Province is extremely poor. The Province has long suffered from serious infiltration of anti-government forces. Opium cultivation and production forms the vast majority of the province’s income, and almost every family is involved in the pernicious trade.
The districts of primary concern are:
Garmser: Bordering on Kandahar Province and Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province, Garmser has seen a number of cross-border raids. The district center was overrun in November of 2007, and a number of other Afghan security force checkpoints have been attacked. Before being overrun, the district had been quiet for a month.
Greshk: Scene of fierce fighting and assassinations. Vies with Garmseer for instability. District chief was abducted in August, after the Taliban commander for the district was killed the month before. There have been many civilian casualties in the fighting, usually as a result of suicide bombings, but also, allegedly, (especially in May and June 2007) by coalition airstrikes.
Musa Qala: The longest Taliban-held district, Musa Qala was the scene of fierce fighting towards the end of 2007 as ISAF forces sought to wrest control of the area. It is thought many anti-government fighters faded away towards the end of the battle, and may be waiting for foreign forces to leave before resuming their harassment of government targets.
Lashkargah: The capital has seen a high rate of suicide attacks, especially against government targets and soft NGO targets.
Kajaki: Location of a damn that can provide several provinces with sufficient power and irrigation resources, the district is naturally a target of insurgents who see the development of Afghanistan as a serious threat to their mission of preventing Afghanistan’s advancement. There were significant battles with security forces in the first half of 2007.
Sangin: A heavily populated district, Sangin has seen more of the desperate type of Taliban actions, including the lynching of a boy for being in possession of dollars, the planting of IEDs and mines, ambushes, attacks on the district headquarters, and suicide attacks. The district has quieted somewhat since the summer of 2007. Unfortunately, civilian casualties in the district have been very high. In February of 2007 the governor alleged there were some 700 al Qaeda operatives creating havoc in the district.
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To contact us about our program: ccsinfo@nps.edu | Last Updated: 06 May 2008.
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