Posts Tagged 'Private security firms and their criminal militias'
Who guards the guardians in Kabul?
Pakistan Daily
Mercenaries and private military companies and their suspicious intelligence network in Afghanistan have ultimately challenged the legitimate function of the Afghan state. They are the prime reason behind the distances between the regular soldiers and civil society across the country. Secret and underground arm business between these contractors, the Taliban militia and former warlords has raised many questions about the instability of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. These private security firms and their criminal militias have minimized the power of the state and government. They have hijacked the Afghan state. The state is no more existed in its legitimate form, there are many states functioning from south to north and from west to east. There have been differences, distances and clefts between civil society and the Afghan national army.
The army soldiers either joining the network of these companies for a lump sum salary every month or receive compensation for joining the Taliban in night fight against NATO and the Afghan govt forces. The privatized military industry patronized by former jihadi leaders and drug smugglers has become a hot debate in the print and electronic media in Afghanistan. These jihadi leaders, former so-called Mujahideen, warlords, war criminals and their private security and intelligence firms have been deeply involved in the killing, and torturing of the civilian population across the country since the US invasion in 2001.
These so-called Mujahideen have never stopped their private security companies from the killing, raping and looting their countrymen. They will never ask this because all these so-called leaders, like warlord Abdul Rasul Syyaf, General Fahim, Karim Khalili, Prof, Rabbani, Sabghatullah Mujaddidi and President Karzai's brothers have established their own private security companies and private militias. They have recruited and recruit young unemployed and poverty stricken Afghans, receive money from the Americans, smuggle weapons in and outside Afghanistan, rape women prisoners, and young girls. They run the business of China white heroin and share their network with the Taliban for spreading their business across south and central Asia.
A former warlord commander Mr, Ruhullah is chairman Kandahar security groups. His men collect taxes and share it with the Taliban. According to the Kaleed research report, his criminal mafia has been involved in the killing of innocent passengers. Moreover, soldiers of this security company along with the Taliban forces fight NATO in night. Another criminal security firm belongs to former General Qasim Fahim and his brother. Sources from Afghanistan revealed that strategic solution international collect information, protect guardians and established its own criminal militia across the country. Afghan Defence Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak and his son Hamid Jan Wardak have also established a security company under that name of N.C.L Security Company. General Rahim Wardak and his company have also been involved in criminal activities and killings of innocent Peoples. Warlord, Sabghatullah Mujaddidi (Former President of Afghanistan) has established a mafia group under the name of elite security company.
The recent release low quality disinformation documents by the WikiLeaks is based on the non-technical reports of these private military and intelligence firms in Afghanistan. Their illiterate, criminal and non-technical informers have gathered such a low quality disinformation reports which caused misunderstandings between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. They accused ISI for its tacit support to Taliban on one hand and beg Pakistan for bringing Afghan Taliban to the table of talks on the other.
Keeping in view their illegal military and terror related activities, President Hamid Karzai renewed his demand for the elimination of the suspicious network of these contractors saying they are a source of corruption that undermining support for the war against the Taliban insurgency. The contractors are "running a parallel security structure in the country, they are looting and stealing from the Afghan people" and "some of them turn into terrorist groups at night time," The President revealed in ABC TV programme. The better-paid private criminal militia needs to be disbanded in order for the Afghan police force to be built up, he said. The US in Afghanistan and Iraq has found that the military has shrunk so much since the Cold War ended, therefore, decided to use private military companies to directly support military operations.
Experts say, there are over 100 private security and military contractors with approximately 64,000 uniformed personnel. These private military companies do not spend all funds on their projects in a particular country. They steal money and transfer it to a safe destination. The issue of the presence of Blackwaters in Pakistan and Afghanistan has become complicated issue. Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik is consecutively denying its presence in the country, while media reports say, Blackwaters has been involved in target killings. Private Contractor began to enter Afghanistan after the US intervention in 2001. Two years ago, Afghan President ordered a law-making process in motion, but the process continued.
Private Security Firms Regulation are still being debated, including their process, staff identification, the weapons used and general requirements for their owners and staff. The criminal record of their soldiers (former Afghan warlords, drug mafia, human traffickers, rapists, and murderers) and their involvement in looting, rape and other illegal activities is another question raised in Afghan parliament. Ordinary Afghans don't know about the basic function of these firms. They don't know regarding the multitude of security actors in the country. They recently came to known that these private contractors are corrupt; they are bringing more guns into the country, supply guns to Pak-Afghan Taliban and smuggle narcotics drugs. They use govt permits for smuggling weapons into Afghanistan and then to Pakistan, they dishonestly register part of their weapons their sophisticated arms are not reported. They buy weapons from black market and employ those who are already armed. They arm other groups organize violence and create conflict mechanism.
Majority of Afghans criticise them as overbearing and abusive. Before issuing the order, President Hamid Karzai accused these firms for their involvement in robbery, malpractice and misusing their authority. Their suspicious activities, lake of transparency, Profit motivated job not by national foreign policy or security interests. As they are not accountable to the state they have no strict regulatory regime. This private sector intelligence and security agencies have created misunderstanding during their operations in various states. What are they doing in Afghanistan and how they run their business, nobody knows. But one thing is clear; they badly affected the fighting capabilities of the professional armies of NATO allied states.
If they recruit and train mercenaries for war, why the Taliban are being accused for the recruitment and training of their cadets? It means they prepare people for their own ideological war. Keeping in view their mysterious activities, at the national level, Afghan state will need to tighten regulatory provisions in domestic law and enhance enforcement. States that depend on mercenaries and private military, intelligence and security companies during peace and war, military operations, intelligence gathering, police training and many other fields, have suffered from the disease of incapacity of their states. Their states authority has become limited and their national security and military policies have been influenced by these private firms. No doubt, the situation is going worse and what we said in the past that private companies or security agencies are working for money not for national interests, proved to be true.
The illegal activities of the private military companies can put in danger the country's relations with the other states. In Afghanistan and in Pakistan, the activities of these companies are viewed more suspicious. According to the British commander in Afghanistan, Major General Nick Carter, "Afghan private security firms fuelling corruption, Security firms need to be properly regulated and registered. An Afghan newspaper once reported about the criminal nature of these companies; "Ignoring the authority of local police and lacking respect of traffic laws and bad road manner, such as not stopping at intersections, using one-way roads in the wrong direction, driving too fast and pushing people to the side of roads. A DynCorp guard company was also once seen slapping an Afghan Minister, the newspaper reported. NATO-led troops do not trust Afghan national security forces as Afghan soldiers at least twice opened fire on their colleagues and mentors, killing two Americans and three Britons in the past months. Police in night hand to hand with Taliban fights coalition forces all the night while in day time they protect them.
Musa Khan Jalalzai, The writer is the author of Britain's National Security Challenges and Punjabi Taliban, based in London
Tagged with Civilian Population, former jihadi leaders and drug smugglers, Intelligence network in Afghanistan, Killing, Mercenaries and private military companies, NATO, Private security firms and their criminal militias, supply guns, Taliban, Troops, Who guards the guardians in Kabul?