RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 24, 2017 Afghan authorities have arrested eight people, including the son of a lawmaker, after a rock-throwing crowd forced a plane to return abruptly to Kabul to pick up two lawmakers who had missed their flight. The May 23 incident has caused uproar among many Afghans, including politicians and people
Michael Hughes: The U.S. military-industrial complex is not some conspiracy theory, but a living creature on the verge of dashing hopes President Donald Trump will deliver on his “America First” credo and resist ordering a troop escalation in Afghanistan. The United States has achieved little after pouring some $1 trillion into the Afghan war, but a
Tolo News: Assadullah Omarkhail, the governor of northern Kunduz province, on Monday confirmed that the provincial administration paid death benefits to between 50 or 60 Taliban families in the province. He said that the move was part of government’s generosity. But, families of fallen soldiers and some military experts have blasted the governor for this, saying
Noor Zahid VOA News April 2, 2017 WASHINGTON — As Afghan security forces continue their military operations against the Taliban and Islamic State-backed militants in the country, the government plans to improve its security forces in the next few years to help beat the growing threat posed by militant groups, Afghan officials said. As part of
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan March 28, 2017 Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry has dismissed nearly 1,400 of its officials over alleged corruption over the past year, a high-ranking ministry official says. Deputy Defense Minister Hilaluddin Hilal told reporters in Kabul on March 28 that the ministry has taken significant steps to tackle widespread corruption, dismissing 1,394 officials
1TV: The open trial of four former officials of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) were begun on Sunday in Kabul after almost two years delay. The four officials were tried on charges of embezzlement of at least one billion Afghanis in Khwaja Rawash and Hakim Sanayee housing projects of MUDH. The primary court
1TV: The Afghan wedding halls will no longer receive “cash payments” from their customers based on the Finance Ministry’s new measure. The plan will require wedding halls to receive payments from their customers through the banking system. The measure is part of efforts to counter corruption and tax evasion. Click here to read more (external link).
Paul Alexander VOA News March 11, 2017 John Sopko’s message to the Afghan people is simple: Corruption kills. It kills soldiers and citizens alike. And if it’s not brought under control, it could kill the country’s fragile future. “People have to understand that corruption isn’t about just money,” said Sopko, who heads corruption watchdog Special
The Atlantic: Last April, Mohammad Farid Hamidi, Afghanistan’s 49-year-old attorney general, made an unprecedented pledge: From eight in the morning until eight in the evening each Monday, he would meet with anyone seeking legal counsel. On some days, this meant seeing as many as 200 petitioners. Hamidi, who came into power in April 2016, called the
Noor Zahid VOA News February 1, 2017 The smuggling of Afghan minerals supplies millions of dollars to armed groups, insurgents and strongmen in the country, an Afghan anti-corruption watchdog reported Wednesday. The Afghanistan Anti-Corruption Network said in a report that militant groups last year received at least $46 million from minerals and precious stones illegally