2 officials held on bribery charges

GHAZNI CITY (PAN): Two officials at the governor’s house have been arrested in southern Ghazi province for allegedly accepting bribes, the attorney’s office said on Sunday.

The officials including the human resources (HR) head were arrested in Ghazni City on Saturday afternoon, Attorney Abdul Rashid Abid told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He accused the two of receiving 150,000 afghanis in bribes from a contractor. Abid said most government departments were rife with corruption and there had been increasing allegations of bribery.

He urged citizens to cooperate with his office in identifying corrupt officials to rid the province of the scourge.

But residents have little faith in government’s anti-corruption efforts. One dweller Abdullah claimed several government officials had been freed after their arrest on corruption charges.

He alleged the attorney’s office itself was involved in corruption because it freed graft-tainted officials in return for bribes.

Nearly two months ago, the attorney’s office detained two education department officials on corruption charges, but released them soon afterward.

ma/mud

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