ISAF Public Affairs Office
KABUL, Afghanistan - Over the past six months, ISAF has begun the process of shifting (or disbanding) all security related programs to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan control.
General John R. Allen, COMISAF, agrees with President Karzai that these affiliated security organizations should be eliminated.
This process continues today, with all security related programs, in varying stages of deconstruction or transition. Most of these groups have been tied to provincial and/or District Chiefs of Police all along, and are routinely inspected by the Afghan Uniformed Police and ISAF elements for accountability.
“ISAF remains committed to ensuring all armed security-related organizations fall within the sovereign control of the GIRoA, and specifically under the control of MOI,” said General Allen. “ISAF will work with MOI to ensure these groups with association with ISAF are properly transitioned and disbanded.”
These programs were created to increase freedom of movement, deny insurgent safe havens and improve security.
Afghan Public Protection Program (sometimes called AP3) personnel and resources are in the final stages of transition to Afghan Local Police, while non-transitioned elements will be disbanded.
The Interim Security for Critical Infrastructure program has been almost entirely transitioned successfully to ALP in RC (SW).
Other programs, including the Community Based Security Solutions and Critical Infrastructure Protection programs will transition to MOI as well.
These types of programs were developed while the ANSF were still building to full strength, and were designed to be a temporary solution to fill the void and provide local security assistance.
As the ANSF continues to develop, this provides opportunity to transition these temporary programs into the formal GIRoA system within MOI or disband them.
ISAF began review of transition of these programs in summer 2011, starting a process to shift the programs to GIRoA control within MOI. The process continues today, with programs in varying stages of deconstruction or transition. The process is underway, and ISAF is committed to working closely with GIRoA in a coordinated fashion to address these groups.