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Watan Group (translates as ''Nation Group'') is a company based in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
that provides telecommunications, logistics and security services. It is owned by the Popal brothers who are believed to be cousins of
Afghan President The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces. On 15 August 2021, as th ...
,
Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
.How the US army protects its trucks – by paying the Taliban
Aram Roston ''The Nation'', Friday 11 November 2009
They are from the powerful
Popalzai Popalzai or Popalzay ( ps, پوپلزی), also known as Popal, are Durrani (formerly called Abdali or Bor Tareen) Pashtuns of Afghanistan. The Popalzai are part of the Zirak confederation of Pashtun tribes. The origin of the Abdali forefathers ...
sub-tribe, the same group that the Founding Father of Afghanistan,
Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
, and all of Afghanistan's former leaders belonged to. The Popalzais are traditionally the influential and elite group of Afghanistan, and are also a powerful group in neighboring
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, particularly in
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
. In addition, many Popalzai members are in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia and United Arab Emirates (UAE). The ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that according to Western officials, the largest shareholder in the company is
Qayum Karzai Abdul Qayum Karzai or Qayyum Karzai (born 1947) is businessman and politician in Afghanistan. He is the elder brother of former President Hamid Karzai. His brothers also include the controversial Mahmoud Karzai and the assassinated Ahmed Wali Kar ...
, the brother of Afghan President, but he stated after the report was published, that he has no financial interest in the company. Watan Group is a partner of
China National Petroleum Corporation The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) () is a major national oil and gas corporation of China and one of the largest integrated energy groups in the world. Its headquarters are in Dongcheng District, Beijing. CNPC was ranked fourth ...
(CNPC), which in December 2011 received Afghanistan's first big contract for oil field exploration and development. The three oil fields estimated to contain 87 million barrels of oil. Their website states that they have seven subsidiaries: AMP Trading, Ehsaan Construction, Navia Design, Sino-Afghan Steel, Watan Telecom, Watan Risk Management and Watan Oil & Gas. Watan Risk Management's clientele includes:
USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
-funded ''Delouite, Checchi, Jhpiego'',
State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...
(SUNY),
American University of Afghanistan The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) ( fa, ; ps, ) is an Afghan private university located in the Darulaman section of Kabul. Most students of AUAF currently live abroad and there are plans to create a new AUAF campus in Qatar in the ...
(AUAF) and other projects under the British and American militaries.


Watan Risk Management

Watan Risk Management (WRM) was established in 2005 by the Popal brothers and a former member of the
Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...
and is described as a "private military arm". In 2007, their armoury of Kalashnikovs was seized by the police despite their documentation being in order, the company believed that the raid was orchestrated by competitors in the Ministry of Interior to seize parts of their business.Crime-buster in an Armani suit takes on private armies of Kabul
The Times October 31, 2007 - Note the company name is misspelt as "Witan"
A major part of their business is protecting convoys of trucks carrying supplies for the American Army between Kabul and Kandahar. An article in 2009, published in ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' accused the company of paying the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
so that their convoys are not attacked. An Afghan official commented that around 10% of the $360 million contract may be paid to the Taliban to protect the convoys. They control the highway between Kabul and Kandahar which all trucking companies must use to transport goods away from Kabul. They control the road because they have a pact with a local militia leader, Commander Ruhullah, who is thought to charge $1,500 for one truck to travel to Kandahar, a distance of 300 kilometers. In response to the article published in ''The Nation'' and that was also published in other publications, including ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', the chairman of the group Ahmad Rateb Popal wrote a letter disputing the accuracy of the report. He stated that they have not received any business as a result of being related to Hamid Karzai and that they do not pay anybody to prevent convoys being attacked (in fact 50 guards die each month on average). He also suggested that the success of the companies meant that competitors where jealous and therefore told ''The Nation's'' reporter facts that were untrue. Afghan MP Nur-ul-haq Olomi told ''
CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
'' that it was unlikely that a security company could function without bribing insurgents saying that if companies did not pay "the convoys were burned and that's it." Michael Semple, an expert on the Taliban, also said that it was likely WRM pay to travel safely along stretches of highway. WRM had been hired to protect the Canadians involved in building the
Dahla Dam The Dahla Dam, also known as Arghandab Dam and Kasa, is located in the Shah Wali Kot District of Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, approximately north of the provincial capital Kandahar. Constructed in 1952, it is said to be the second largest dam ...
near Kandahar. According to ''
The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' in February 2010, a standoff occurred between employees of WRM and Canadian security officials which led to the Canadians who were providing oversight over the Afghan security forces to flee the country. In May 2010, WRM were banned from operating on one of the highway between Kabul and Kandahar after a guard working for the company shot and killed a civilian. The company was ordered to pay compensation to the family of the civilian by the Afghan interior ministry. The ban came into effect on May 14 but was overturned within two weeks after 1000 trucks were backlogged on the highway. In December 2010, US Army officials proposed banning Watan Risk Management from all US government work. Popals and Ruhullah separately challenged the actions. The Army decided not to debar Watan, opting instead for an administrative agreement that says the company may not bid on any convoy security contracts paid for with U.S. tax dollars for the next three years. However, the ban does not affect the other companies owned by the Popals, which include oil, gas, steel, construction and telecom businesses, according to the terms of the agreement signed in early August. Furthermore, in the summer of 2011, in a stunning reversal of course, Army officials inexplicably stopped the debarment proceedings and settled with Watan Risk Management and Commander Ruhullah.


Watan Telecom

Watan Telecom is a consortium of Al Houbi Telecom of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and two North American companies,
Cellular One Cellular One is the trademarked brand name that licenses services (radio frequencies for telecommunications) used by several cellular service providers in the United States. The brand was sold to Trilogy Partners by AT&T in 2008 shortly after AT ...
and
GlobeCom The Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) is an annual international academic conference organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Communications Society. The first GLOBECOM was organised by the Communications Socie ...
. In 2005 it acquired a licence for $30 million to become a mobile telecoms service provider in Afghanistan, the licence will last until 2020, when it can be renewed for another ten years.Investcom, Watan Win Afghanistan Mobile Telecom Licenses
Nic Fildes ''Cellular News'' 15 September 2005


References

{{Reflist


External links


Official website
Conglomerate companies of Afghanistan