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‘Corruption Is A Threat to Afghanistan’s National Security’: U.S. Embassy
The Assistant Chief of Mission for U.S. Embassy in Kabul says corruption is a threat to Afghanistan’s national security, It undermines the rule of law and weakens the legitimacy & power of the Afghan government.
Addressing the 9th Oversight Coordination Board meeting in the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, Mr. Richard H. Riley said that as co-chair of the oversight coordination body, the U.S. government has “prioritized” anti-corruption and transparency within the ministries of Interior and Defense to “improve donor confidence.”
“Corruption is a threat to Afghanistan’s national security, It siphons funds away from the bilateral services, It undermines the rule of law and weakens the legitimacy and power of the Afghan government, all of which play into the Taliban narrative,” he said.
Mr. Riley, meanwhile, said that corruption harms the critical missions to protect the Afghan people and borders “when corrupt officials sell ANDSF fuel and weapons to the enemy.”
Recognizing the “strong leadership” of the acting ministers to bring real reform to the Interior and Defense ministries, he stated: ” We support and encourage their [ministers] continued efforts.”
According to this U.S. diplomat , the Taliban remains a “resilient and demanding enemy”, continued strong performance by the Afghan Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and continued implementation of the goals and outline in the security road map, remain “critical” to the eventual success of ongoing fight in the war-strife country.
In the meeting, Afghan Finance Minister, Iklil Hakimi said that the government was committed to fight against corruption.
This comes as President Ashraf Ghani has expressed concern regarding the widespread corruption in the state security institutions, particularly in the Interior Affairs Ministry as the president described MoI the “heart of corruption”
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
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