Officials ignoring Karzai’s decree to face music

KABUL): A presidential aide on Sunday warned government departments and officials of legal action if they ignored a recent presidential decree that calls for sweeping reforms.

Parliament was duty-bound to oversee the implementation of Hamid Karzai’s directive, said the judiciary board head at the Presidential Palace.

Nasrullah Stanikzai told reporters in Kabul that an official who failed to comply with the orders within the specific timeframe would be prosecuted.

“As far as I know, this is the first-ever decree in the history of the country that has tasked all government departments with reforms in different spheres within specific timelines,” he remarked.

A department or an official that failed to implement it within the stipulated time frame would be charged with dereliction of duty.

He added the Wolesi Jirga was authorised to keep an eye on the decree enforcement while the Cabinet Secretariat was responsible for reporting on implementation of the reform agenda.

Stanikzai said the Attorney General Office (AGO) and related departments, such as the intelligence service and crime branch police would be responsible for dealing with administrative graft cases at various levels.

“Once the decree is enforced, the departments will cooperate with AGO,” he explained, promising that cases against high-ranking officials would be finalised and the culprits punished within the next six months.

In response to a question, he said: “We have lately been hearing that cases of corruption against some ministers have been referred to the AGO. But under the Afghan constitution, a special tribunal has to investigate ministers.”

He said members of the Supreme Court and different ministers, if found guilty of corruption or other wrongdoing, would be prosecuted by the special panel, which is created in case of need.

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