Nangarhar joins Afghanistan reintegration efforts

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – After nearly a year of discussion between leaders in Kabul and Nangarhar province, the official start of the Nangarhar reintegration program began with an inaugural ceremony, Dec. 17, in downtown Jalalabad.

A delegation of members from the High Peace Council and Joint Secretariat, who maintain and oversee the implementation of the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program, traveled from Kabul to Jalalabad, to formally recognize the beginning of the program and show their support for the peace process.

The APRP is an Afghan government program, which aims to bring former fighters who renounce violence, break ties with terrorists, and agree to abide by the Afghan constitution, back into their communities, according to the ISAF website.

“Now it is our responsibility to take the lead and maintain peace in the region,” said Qazi Muhammad Amin Waqad, a member of the High Peace Council, during a speech to an audience of more than 100 elders and civic leaders. “This is our country. This is our home. We must make it a better place.”

In addition to guests from Kabul, the audience included members of the Provincial Peace Committee, Provincial Joint Secretariat Team, community leaders and the provincial governor, Gul Agha Sherzai.

The audience also included senior Coalition Force leaders, including British Maj. Gen. David Hook, director of the International Security Assistance Force, Force Reintegration Cell, and Canadian Brig. Gen. Karl McQuillan, Combined Task Force-1 deputy commanding general for development.
Similar to the relationship between the High Peace Council and Joint Secretariat in Kabul, APRP at the provincial level is comprised of the PPC and PJST.

“The Provincial Joint Secretariat Team acts as the administrative body for the Provincial Peace Committee,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. John Walsh, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team deputy commander. “The PPC members canvas their local districts to bring fighters back into their communities by making them aware of the peace and reintegration program.”

Once members of the peace committee find and indentify viable individuals for the reintegration program, the PJST finds opportunities for those individuals to become productive members of society, while also providing incentives for their respective communities to welcome them back, said Bill Girard, Afghan Hands, who monitors, reports and enables the APRP process in Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan.

“This is a heavy burden on your shoulders,” said Waqad, talking to the PPC, “but bringing peace will be the most worthwhile effort.”

In addition to working through a relatively new bureaucratic process, APRP in Nangarhar was delayed following the murder of Burhanuddin Rabbani the leader of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council and a former president, Sept. 20, 2011.

“Afghans have faced so many problems over the last 30 years,” said Farhadullah Farhad, deputy chief executive of the Joint Secretariat, during the inaugural ceremony. “Now is the time to stop violence and work toward peace and prosperity. The Afghan people are thirsty for peace.”

“Transition is a step toward peace,” said Waqad. “It requires a comprehensive approach; we cannot stay in the back relying on Coalition Forces to handle security and bring peace. We cannot always rely on foreign forces. We must do for ourselves.”

Since APRP began in August 2010, nearly 3,000 former fighters have joined the peace process, said Farhad. The program has provided many of them training and jobs to help transition them back into their communities.

“We have proved to the international community that Afghanistan is part of the solution, and we will work hard to make this program successful,” said Farhad. “It is truly an Afghan led program.”