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SIGAR Says Corruption in Gov’t Strengthens Taliban Position
The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), stated that the existence of corruption in the Afghan government has strengthened the position of the Taliban.
According to the U.S. watchdog, the Taliban is able to recruit supporters by giving examples of corrupt officials in the central government.
Speaking at Wilson Center in Washington, DC John F. Sopko, the Head of SIGAR urged the U.S. government to prioritize anti corruption efforts in Afghanistan.
However, Sopko praised the performance of President Ashraf Ghani’s government for its anti-corruption efforts. He said the current government has performed better in addressing corrupt practices, when compared with the previous government led by Former President Hamid Karzai.
In addition, the Head of SIGAR blamed Washington for doing very little to prevent corruption in Afghanistan.
Rayhana Azad, an Afghan lawmaker believes that corruption in the Afghan institutions cannot be tackled in a short period of time, rather it requires a long-term anti-corruption strategy. She urges the government to make a decision about former government officials, who are accused of fraud and other wrongdoing.
Latif Mahmud, Ghani’s Deputy Spokesman says that government is committed to the fight against corruption, and it has implemented “Key indicators and fundamental standards,” for reducing the level of corruption.
Meanwhile, Naser Timory, a Researcher at the Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA), told Ariana News that the cost of corrupt practices to the National Unity Government is estimated to be approximately $1.7 billion. He added that this amount of money is significant for a poor nation like Afghanistan, which depends heavily on the support of the international community.
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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
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