Embattled Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pledged that there would be no place for corrupt officials in his new administration — a demand made by Washington and its international partners as they ponder sending more troops to confront the Taliban and shore up his government.
Also on Sunday, NATO reported three more coalition soldiers — one American and two Britons — died in combat with the Taliban in western and southern areas. The latest losses pushed Britain’s combat death toll in the eight-year Afghan war to 201.
With casualties mounting, corruption has become a frontburner issue in Afghanistan, with US President Barack Obama and other world leaders under pressure from their own constituents to explain why they are sending young soldiers to fight and die in defense of a government riddled with graft, cronyism and fraud.
Obama is considering a request from the top US and NATO commander to send tens of thousands more US troops to curb the growing Taliban insurgency.
With his reputation sullied by the fraud-marred election that returned his to power, Karzai gave assurances on Sunday that he would rid his government of corrupt officials.
“Individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government,” Karzai said in an interview with the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
The presidential press office released comments from the interview.
Karzai also said donor countries share some of the responsibility for rampant corruption because of a poorly structured system to manage projects. The UN and some donor countries have also cited the need for a more efficient system to guarantee the money serves the Afghan people.
“There is no accountability of their contracts, and there is a serious corruption in the implementation of those projects. And the responsibility for this corruption is [with] the international community,” Karzai said. “I am hopeful that by joint cooperation we will be able to overcome all these challenges.”
His remarks were made one day after the Afghan Foreign Ministry accused foreign critics of using corruption allegations to influence the makeup of the new government.
Meanwhile, about 350 Taliban prisoners are on a hunger strike at a prison in Kandahar and the Ministry of Justice said it would send a delegation to the lockup in southern Afghanistan to investigate the complaints.
Mohammad Shafiq, one of the prisoners, says the inmates began the hunger strike on Sunday evening. They are complaining about poor food, water and health care.
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