FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan - The Paktika province government conducted a Super Shura Jan. 29-31 at the governor’s compound in Sharana, the provincial capital of Paktika.
 The three-day-long Shura focused on the four major goals of the provincial government, which are security, economy, governance and tribal issues.  The goals were selected by the Governor of Paktika, Dr. Akram Khpalwak, along with Coalition forces of the Sharana Provincial Reconstruction Team. 
The goal was to come up with a conceptual plan to address current provincial issues and to find solutions leading to an increase in the confidence in the local government.
The event was opened with a speech by the governor that reinforced the goals.  Although they also discussed healthcare, education and infrastructure, the most important issue addressed at the super Shura was security. The governor focused on the roles and responsibilities of Coalition forces, Afghan National Army and the district level government officials  “The super Shura provided provincial leaders an opportunity to explain to the population programs they are engaged in and explain the challenges and restrictions they face so the population will better understand why provincial leaders make the decisions they make and why some projects requested by local villages may not be able to be realized,” said Navy Cmdr. Eduardo Fernandez, commander of the Sharana PRT. “In summary, it provided an avenue to better connect the people to their government.”