Dangerous profession

Kabul podcast with Nicolas Lunt
NATO's civilian spokesman in Afghanistan

Afghan National Police Lieutenant Bismallah Taban is 25 years old.  Unusually for an Afghan man he looks a good deal younger – conditions here usually add at least five years to the faces of most Afghan men. 

Lieutenant Bismallah currently works in the Afghan National Police administration department at the Ministry of Interior in Kabul.  Before that he was a junior officer in the City’s Police Force.  He has been in the police force for five years having graduated from high school and then passed out from the police officer’s training college.  He joined the training programme with six of his school friends, but he was the only one to get through.

We meet one October morning in Kabul not long after 10 or 11 of his colleagues and a number of Kabuli civilians have been shredded in a bomb attack.  A suicide bomber wearing police uniform over his explosive vest stepped aboard a bus bringing police officers to work and then detonated himself.  The explosion literally ripped the bus in two.  Hours later body parts were still being collected from surrounding waste ground and nearby trees.

This morning’s suicide attack took place close to the house in central Kabul that Bismullah shares with his wife, his parents and his brothers and sisters.  They are all worried about him serving as a policeman.  They know and he knows that when he’s in uniform he’s a target.  In fact he belongs to the biggest target organisation in Afghanistan.  Around 700 of his colleagues have been killed by the Taliban extremists this year and double that number have been wounded many very badly.

Joining the police is therefore a very brave thing to do.  More than that, it is selfless.  Bismullah, a Lieutenant, is paid 4200 Afghanis a month – this equates to around $85.  He would like to start a family of his own but on his pay he says that this just isn’t possible.  

In spite of the dangers and the low salary, Bismullah is hopeful about his and the ANP’s future.  He believes that the reform process currently being implemented by the Ministry of Interior with the support of United States training teams and the European Union’s Police Mission will lead to genuine improvements in the management of the police and the terms and conditions under which they serve. 

As for his own future, he is quite clear that the people of Afghanistan do not want to see a return to the rule of Taliban – “democracy has been good for us” he says. And in many ways and for many people it has. 

It was good to spend some time listening to Bismullah.  Building a functioning police force is one of the hot topics in Afghanistan at the moment and there has been much high level military and political debate on the subject.  The essence of this debate is how to rapidly but sustainably build up a force that is capable of providing long term security and justice throughout Afghanistan. 

As long as this force doesn’t exist, and it decidedly doesn’t at the moment, the longer ISAF and US Coalition forces will need to stay in Afghanistan.  A functioning police force (and the related justice institutions) is the key for the international community’s ultimate disengagement from the country.  So, although ISAF is not directly engaged in the police reform programme NATO has a real interest in its progress.  How are things going?

As always there is a wide range of views on current progress.  These different views reflect the various theories for building a new police force and differences of opinion regarding the type of police the country needs.  But firstly, in order to assess progress it’s important to be clear where we’re starting from.  In brief, the start point is not looking good. 

Sad to say, but most Afghans currently regard the police as a source of fear rather than security.  For example, the town of Musa Qala, a dangerous spot in the southern province of Helmand, was retaken by the Government earlier on this year.  Afterwards there were widely believed stories circulating all over Afghanistan that the newly arrived police took advantage of the town’s empty houses to loot them of beds, bicycles, radios, and fridges and other valued items before the residents had a chance to return.  Whether these are true or not, they are believed and they serve to further undermine the relationship between the police and the people.

Police forces around the world always contain a few bad apples but by and large they don’t detract too much from the good work of the majority.  The problem is when the bad outnumber the good – or at least when the people believe that to be the case.  That seems to be the situation here and this is having an impact on a number of key issues for the police including recruitment, retention and the overall reform process. 

Not only is there a problem with trust - the basis of the compact that needs to exist between citizen and police - there’s also the issue of equipment.  In parts of the country, mostly in the main urban centres, there have been significant enhancements to the quality of the police’s kit.  But in the rural areas – which is after all where 85% of Afghans live – the situation is pretty dire.  If police stations have a vehicle they often don’t have fuel or spare parts.  If they have weapons they frequently do not have much ammunition. 

In fact the Ministry of Interior Spokesman, my friend Mr. Bashary Noorzai, said the other day that it was totally unfair to expect Afghan policemen to fight terrorists when they have only five rounds of ammunition each and no shoes.  He may have been exaggerating for effect, but I think there was some truth in what he was saying.

The reason for telling you about this situation is not to heap misery on to despair.  It is to explain where police reform and capacity building is starting from. Afghan and international expectations must be realistic about how tough this journey is going to be because there is such a long way to go. 

But the good news is that the journey has definitely started and we can expect to see accelerated progress over the coming months.  Both of the key international parties to reform – the US government and the EU police team – are ratcheting up their outputs.  Substantial amounts of money will be heading in to the system from the US and the EU is showing signs that it is beginning to build up some steam after a tricky period earlier this year.

And now the nasty c word which, sadly, must get a mention when talking about police reform.  In the areas where the insurgents and terrorists are most active in particular, the challenge is to engage the interest of young men to offer their services to the state rather than to its enemies.  Although Lieutenant Bismullah could do with more pay and probably deserves more given the threats he faces each day, it’s not just about money.  The young men (and it’s nearly all young men: there are currently only around 250 women police officers – that issue should be the subject of a subsequent podcast) need to believe that the force they are joining is going to value them and treat them properly. 

The c word is of course corruption.  Most people believe it is entirely pervasive throughout the force and it doesn’t just have an effect on the citizens.  Corruption decays professional relationships and destroys internal trust.  And because it is partially responsible for many of the equipment and resource shortages, it also directly endangers the lives of police officers.

Only Afghans can cleanse their force.  The people must make it clear what they want from their police and the behaviour they expect.  Those joining must be given the support they’ll need to stand firm against the external and internal threats to their integrity.  If Lieutenant Bismullah is typical of the new breed of policeman then the future may be a better place than the present.  Let’s hope he is.