Wolesi Jirga to debate bribery charges against MPs

KABUL (lower house) on Wednesday announced debating on Saturday the allegations that some lawmakers had accepted bribes from summoned ministers to save their skin.

Deputy speaker Mirwais Yasini told the house that the names of MPs would be disclosed if proved guilty.

The assembly has summoned 11 ministers for under-spending their development budgets in 2011. Those appeared before the house had been able to satisfy lawmakers and their explanations endorsed by a majority of members.

However, some lawmakers have accused their colleagues of accepting bribes from the ministers summoned in return for voting in their favour.

On Saturday, some MPs suggested four ministers who did not hold their current portfolios in 2011 be excluded from the list of summoned ministers.

“The Wolesi Jirga should call a special session to discuss the issue of bribery and expose those who have accepted money from ministers,” an MP from Herat Naheed Farid told the session.

Lawmaker from Paktia, Gul Pacha Majidi, said President Karzai should ask ministers from where the money given to MPs had come.

Public representative from northern Badakhshan province, Abdul Latif Pidram, said the issue of summoning ministers benefited some lawmakers in terms of receiving project contracts. He said those accepted money should be exposed to the nation.

Yasini, who presided over the session, ruled the issue should come for a discussion on Saturday. He asked MPs to produce evidence in support of their claims that some colleagues had been bribed.

myn/ma

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