News - Afghanistan

A number of Afghan parliamentarians have formed a new interest group to support the fight against corruption.

Under the banner "Trust Parliamentary Group", the parliamentarians are seeking to put more pressure on the government to follow up the anti-corruption statements.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a speech to a special session of Parliament last Thursday that "corruption has reached its peak" in Afghanistan and vowed to do more to fight it.

Group members said its aim is partly to raise awareness among the people, media, and political parties of the problems related to corruption, saying that corruption has become part of the system with high ranking officials and political figures engaging in it as a sort of "economic mafia".

Group leader and Afghan MP Mohammad Noor Akbari said that the group wants President Karzai to put on trial any high-ranking government officials who are partaking in corrupt activities.

"President Karzai talked seriously about fighting against corruption, so now we want him to act seriously, starting from high levels of government," he said.

Those is positions of judicial power and anyone suspected of abusing their position of power for personal gain should be dismissed and investigated, he added.

Group member and Ghazni MP Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi said: "In the past decade, there were many slogans but less action. This is a new chance for the president to follow through with his speech. Besides, we encourage him that when we seriously fight corruption, the international community will help Afghanistan more in different sectors."