3 senior Garmser district officers sacked on graft charges

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): Three senior civil and military officers in the Garmser district of southern Helmand province have been removed on corruption charges, the deputy governor said on Thursday.

District chief Ayub Omar Omari, police commander Toryalai Rohiand intelligence officer Amarullah Khan allegedly received bribes from farmers and promised allowing the cultivation of opium poppies — a crop banned by the government.

Deputy Governor Mohammad Jan Rasulyar told reporters tribal elders involved in the sordid episode had been referred to judicial organs. The action had been taken on the basis of a litany of public complaints.

On the other hand, dozens of tribal elders and social council members from the district rallied in Lashkargah against the decision. They alleged the governor and some MPs from Helmand, seeking to further their personal interests, were behind the dismissals.

Omari, the sacked district head, told Pajhwok Afghan News, challenged the authorities to produce evidence substantiating their claim. He asked since his appointment had been made in line with people’s demand, how he could ask them for bribes.

This year poppies were cultivated on 9,000 hectares of land in the district, where the eradication target was 440 hectares, according to Omari, who said they had destroyed 399 hectares of the banned crop.

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