| Country: | Afghanistan |
| Details of Formation: | The government began to cooperate with the group in 2009 because it was unable to shut it down. |
| Details of Termination: | In 2013 it is reported that the PGM turned into a private security company and was projected to be integrated into the police, but there are no sources on the implementation of this plan. |
| Purpose: | The main purpose of the group to protect the strategically important route from Kandahar to Tarin Kowt from attacks by the Taliban so that NATO supply convoys were able to pass it. It also secured other routes in Oruzgan province. For the American special forces the PGM collected intelligence and fought rebels. |
| Organisation: | Although the group was financed by the Ministry of Interior, as well as the US and Australia, the government was unable to control it effectively. As a result, it is described as a private army “subsidised” by the government. The PGM cooperated with the police and its leader Matiullah Khan became police chief in Oruzgan province in 2009. Khan had significant power within his province and reportedly had ties to and supported President Karzai. |
| Weapons and Training: | The group was armed with guns, but the government is only reported to have provided payment and there is nothing said about it arming members. According to a statement by Khan, some members used their own weapons. |
| Size: | When the group first began in 2009, it is reported to have consisted of 200 members. In 2010 the PGM grew to 1,500 members and in 2011 it had an estimated 1,200 members. In 2012 the militia expanded further as one report states that there were over 3,000 individuals in the group, of which about 600 were paid by the Ministry of Interior), while another news source (December 2012) reports that the group had 2,400 members. |
| Reason for Membership: | Some members joined the group for better payment (former police) which, according to Khan, is $240 each month. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | -- |
| Other Information: | The militia is often referred to as Matiullah Khan’s private army, who inherited the militia from his uncle (later acting as a close advisor-minister to Karzai). It is linked to the Interior Ministry. Related to the group’s purpose of protecting the road from Tarin Kowt to Kandahar from Taliban insurgents, it cooperated with the Australian special forces who pay the group. The American special forces were also a partner of cooperation. The group operated in Oruzgan province, where Khan became police chief in 2008. There were allegations that Khan was involved in drug trade. Members are reported to have worn police uniforms and some were former members of the police. |
| References: | Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD. |