The Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Saturday said a number of influential people are abusing their authority by using police force members for their own purposes, including that of bodyguards.
 
The MoI said this was against the law.
 
Currently 157,000 police officers are employed by the ministry of interior, but a number of them are not at their assigned posts and are instead being used by government officials for personal reasons.
 
“Their main duty is maintaining security. But many police force members are working for people who do not need them and it is against the law. In the last two months we have started the process to redeploy them to their assigned stations,” said Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the MoI.
 
According to security departments, Parliament Members (MPs), provincial council members, prosecutors, high-ranking government high officials and even powerful individuals use police for their personal work.
 
“In one of their (officials) cars you can see up to 10 armed men with different weapons and it is worrying,” said Sayed Kamal Sadat, police chief of Balkh province.
 
However, this trend is not only found among police but also affects Afghan National Army soldiers and Afghan National Security Forces, said some officials.
 
“This issue is a big problem for police. Some (officials) commit robberies, murders and kidnappings. The international community’s aid in the past 15 years has been wasted,” Atiqullah Amarkhail, a former military officer said.
 
Military analysts also criticize government over the existence of ghost soldiers among police and national army troops.
 
“The money and weapons that are taken for the soldiers who are not active [ghost soldiers] can be used against the security forces and against Afghan people,” Saleh Mohammad Registani, a military analyst said.
 
According to reports, Afghanistan should have 352,000 soldiers to defend the country, but the issue of ghost soldiers has raised serious concerns. This latest disclosure about the private use of security personnel now also adds to the challenges in the country.