Khost Protection Force

After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the presence of US forces in the province of Khost led to significant changes in the power dynamics of the region. As military units operated in the area, they sought alliances with like-minded individuals who shared their immediate goals. In a peculiar turn of events, the power vacuum created by the Taliban's defeat allowed former communists, who were once adversaries of the United States during the 1980s, to rise to power. These individuals, being staunchly anti-Taliban, became valuable allies to the US and Coalition partners in the region. This unexpected shift in power dynamics set the stage for the establishment of the Khost Protection Force (KPF), a paramilitary group that would play a significant role in the security landscape of Khost province.{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Daniel |title=The Valley’s Edge: A Year with the Pashtuns in the Heartland of the Taliban |publisher=Potomac Books |year=2012 |location=Washington, DC |pages=130}} When it was first established, it was first led by Gaffar Khan.https://www.lse.ac.uk/south-asia-centre/assets/documents/WorkingPapers/Afghanistan-1-GIUSTOZZI-Political-Liability-of-Military-Effectiveness-copy.pdf

In 2002, General Khailbaz, an exiled Khalq officer from Jaji Maidan, returned to Khost and established his own militia comprising former communist soldiers. It was integrated into what became known as the Khost Protection Force (KPF). Butt the unit faced criticism from other tribes for their perceived lack of accountability, arrogance upon returning to Khost City, harassment of former mujahedeen members, and allegations of ruthlessness and human rights abuses. Observers noted that while nominally subordinate to the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the KPF operated autonomously from the Kabul government. In 2019, the United Nations reported that the organization operated outside of the legal government structure, and the widespread impunity enjoyed by its members remained a grave concern. The KPF received funding from the Central Intelligence Agency until the Fall of Kabul in August 2021.{{Cite journal |date=December 2010 |title=The Liaison Office, "Khost’s Tribes: Between a Rock and a Hard Place," TLO-Policy Brief 4 |journal=}}{{Cite journal |last=Giustozzi |first=Antonio |date=2009 |title=Insights from the Afghan Field |journal=Columbia University Press |pages=87}}

Like other paramilitaries in Afghanistan during the 2001-2021 war, the KPF was mostly trained and recruited by the CIA despite nominally under NDS command;{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Kate |date=2021-07-16 |title=Menace, Negotiation, Attack: The Taleban take more District Centres across Afghanistan |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/war-and-peace/menace-negotiation-attack-the-taleban-take-more-district-centres-across-afghanistan/ |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=Afghanistan Analysts Network - English |language=ps-GB}}{{Cite journal |last=Hakimi |first=Aziz A. |date=2013 |title=Getting savages to fight barbarians: counterinsurgency and the remaking of Afghanistan |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02634937.2013.843300 |journal=Central Asian Survey |language=en |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=388–405 |doi=10.1080/02634937.2013.843300 |s2cid=145614033 |issn=0263-4937|url-access=subscription }} it did not come under the command chain of the Afghan National Army or the U.S. Army.{{Cite web |last=Grossman |first=Patrica |date=2019-10-31 |title="They've Shot Many Like This" Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/31/theyve-shot-many/abusive-night-raids-cia-backed-afghan-strike-forces |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=Human Rights Watch}}

In November 2015, a growing number of deadly night raids by the KPF caused a backlash by the residents in the city of Khost against the United States.

Following the fall of Kabul, the Taliban intensified their hunt to find and kill members of the KPF in October 2021.{{Cite web |last=Grossman |first=Patricia |date=2021-11-30 |title="No Forgiveness for People Like You" Executions and Enforced Disappearances in Afghanistan under the Taliban |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/11/30/no-forgiveness-people-you/executions-and-enforced-disappearances-afghanistan |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=Human Rights Watch}} The KPF disobeyed orders given to abandon their gear and vehicles and simply destroyed anything that they couldn't take with them.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2022-01-26/ex-afghan-soldiers-arrive-in-bloomington-after-escaping-taliban|title=Ex-Afghan soldiers arrive in Bloomington after escaping Taliban|date=January 26, 2022|website=WGLT}}

In January of 2022, it was reported that surviving KPF soldiers arrived in the US and were living in Bloomington; most of them were forced to leave their immediate families behind. They came through the "Welcome Home Project".{{Cite web|url=https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2022-03-16/former-afghan-soldiers-settle-in-to-their-central-illinois-relocation|title=Former Afghan soldiers settle into their central Illinois relocation|date=March 16, 2022|website=WGLT}}

In May of 2024, it was reported that over seventy members had been detained by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) upon their return from training in the United States in 2022.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-29 |title=Over 70 KPF Members Detained By Taliban Intelligence, Report Local Sources |url=https://www.afintl.com/en/202405296238 |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=www.afintl.com |language=en}}

In July of 2024, it was reported that an additional six members had returned to Afghanistan after being invited by the Afghanistan Personalities Contact Commission.{{Cite news |last=Rahmati |first=Fidel |date=2024-07-11 |title=Six former KPF members return from US to Afghanistan |url=https://www.khaama.com/six-kpf-members-return-from-us-to-afghanistan/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |work=Khaama Press |language=en-US}} The children of Abdul Hamid Mohtat and members of the KPF received "immunity cards".{{Cite web |last=Salehi |first=Zahera |date=2024-07-21 |title=Liaison Commission Issues Immunity Cards to Returning Afghan Dignitaries and Former KPF Members |url=https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/liaison-commission-issues-immunity-cards-to-returning-afghan-dignitaries-and-former-kpf-members/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Bakhtar News Agency |language=en-US}}

In October of 2024, it was reported that the KPF base was being used by the Haqqani Network to train two thousand foreign jihadists. The base is frequently visited by Sirajuddin Haqqani.{{Cite web |title=Dari-Language Report: Haqqani Network, Headed By Afghan Taliban's Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Training 2,000 Foreign Jihadi Fighters At Former CIA Base In Khost |url=https://www.memri.org/jttm/dari-language-report-haqqani-network-headed-afghan-talibans-interior-minister-sirajuddin |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=MEMRI |language=en}}

An American official speaking anonymously told The Washington Post in 2015 that the KPF “is one of the most effective elements fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and were it not for their constant efforts, Khost would likely be a Haqqani-held province, and Kabul would be under far greater threat than it is,”. KPF soldiers provide assistance by tracking targets for drone strikes.{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/16/afghanistan-khost-protection-forces-cia-us-pullout-taliban/|title=Atrocities Pile Up for CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitary Forces|first=Emran|last=Feroz|date=November 16, 2020}}

Afghan soldiers and law enforcers do cooperate with the KPF in anti-Taliban operations for fear of getting into trouble with their superiors.

The KPF operated with a country-wide informant network.

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Category:Paramilitary organisations based in Afghanistan

Category:Military units and formations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:Military of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Category:Organizations disestablished in 2021

Category:Military units and formations established in 2002

Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 2021