GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – A combined Afghan national security force team conducted a major operation to clear the Zardulu Pass of insurgent forces.
“The enemy was using this pass as a safe haven,” said Afghan uniformed police 505th Zone commander, Maj. Gen. Gul Nabi Ahmed Zai. “The pass was a base of operations from which insurgents pushed out fighters to the rest of the province.”
The fight for Zardulu Pass was not without cost, two Afghan soldiers from the Afghan National Army’s 203rd Thunder Corps, 3rd Brigade Route Clearance Team died during the operation.
“The main fighting was conducted by the Afghan national civil order police,” said ANCOP commander, Hajji Kuwari of Baghram. “[Afghan national security forces] lost two men, but the enemy was not able to stand against us.”
The Zardulu Pass is important economically to the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni. Insurgent activities along the pass artificially drove up the prices of food throughout the province, but according to Ahmed Zai, operations already had a positive effect.
“The prices of goods in Ghazni have already decreased due to the clearing of Zardulu Pass,” said Ahmed Zai.
According to Zai, the pass was also a major source of criminal activity used to finance insurgent operations.
“Insurgent forces were using the Zardulu Pass to extort money from local residents,” said a senior advisor to the Afghan Army’s 203rd Corps, U.S. Army Col. James F. Chisholm of Elizabeth, Pa.
The Zardulu Pass connects geographically isolated residents to markets, hospitals and family members in the city. Its residents are a mixture of ethnic Pashtouns and Hazaras.
The 203rd Thunder Corps commander, Afghan Army Maj. Gen. Abdul Khaliq pointed out the clearance operation was a national initiative and that did not favor any one ethnic group.
“We will conduct a shura to assure the people that our operations are neutral,” said Khaliq. “The people must know that we are here for all Afghans.”
Khaliq also stressed the essentially Afghan nature of the clearance operation.
“This was an Afghan-led operation conducted with minimal coalition support,” said Khaliq.
Task Force White Eagle commander, Polish Maj. Gen. Slawomir Wojciechowski of Zielona Gora, Poland concurred with Khaliq’s assessment.
“This operation was selected, planned and executed by Afghan forces,” said Wojciechowski. “They recognized the importance of this place, and we supported them.”