Sar-Parast Aghtar

Aghtar Sar-Parast (Pasdani: سر هجوم غالب شد) or MinṭaqaʾĀmir Sijn (Rahelian آمِر سِجْن مِنْطَقَة) literally, Zone Warden, is a local-level position within the National Renovation Front, the sole legal and governing party of Zorasan. The Zone Wardens are charged with overseeing geographical areas housing at most 3,500 people, these zones vary in size depending on population density. As of 2020, there were 58,320 Zone Wardens operating in the country. The duties of the Zone Wardens is to be the chief representative of the party and state at the local level, to organise "friendly and solidarity-minded communities together", to mediate neighbourhood disputes, to maintain party and state loyalty within their zone and to organise and manage denounciations.

The Zone Wardens are also charged with compiling public opinion reports for the Union Commission for Political Effeciency, which is their direct-line of communication to the national leadership. Depending on the nature of their zone, individual Aghtar Sar-Parast are entitled for a small team, usually young party members or those attending the Union Institute for Political Governance, the elite party-school.

History

The origins of the Zone Wardens lay in the prior District Associations (Javame-e Aghtar) which were established in the Union of Khazestan and Pardaran in 1954. These were neighbourhood watch type clubs consisting of 200-250 families in mostly urban areas. Every urban citizen of was mandated to be a member of an association and they were headed by Association Leaders (Javame-e Rahbaran) who were hand picked by the District Committee of the Revolutionary Masses Party. Unlike the current Zone Warden system, there were no associations in rural areas, as these constituted the support base of the RMP during the UKP's existence. The District Associations were charged with arraning political, social and cultural events as a means of fostering Ettehâd among the populace. However, during the 1970s the duties of the District Associations was mostly dedicated to observing criminal activity or political disobedience.

Following Zorasani Unification in 1980, the current Zone Warden system was adopted and was expanded to rural areas, with the individual zones enlarged to uniformally cover areas populated by 3,500 people. The system was also granted a degree of officialdom, with the establishment of staffs for Zone Wardens to rely upon. The responsibilities of the new Zone Wardens was markedly expanded in comparison to the predecessor role, with a focus on fostering Ettehâd, arranging local community events, charitable activities, leading seminars or lessons on public health, financial responsibility and ideology. In 1980, Zone Wardens were opened to clerics, enabling the party and state to use the Irfanic religious establishment's network of influential figures. By 1990, clerics constituted almost 46% of all Zone Wardens in Zorasan, this rose to 70% by 2010, as it was found locals felt more confident confiding in a cleric, especially when denouncing a neighbour or acquaintance. All clerics who apply for the position are thoroughly vetted by the local party office before being appointed.