They control much of panjwayi , zhari and arghandab , three neighbouring districts , and have a strong influence in dand , between kandahar and quetta .
An official from dand wa patan , a small sliver of a district along the border with pakistan , so urgently wanted to talk to the members of the american team that he traveled three and a half hours by taxi - he had no car - to meet them .
In dand , for example , a dusty region on the southern outskirts of kandahar , he recently exhorted his troops , in front of this correspondent , to tell him what they thought was " wrong " with their effort to secure afghanistan , whether they thought it was " doable " .