Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Afghanistan to form anti-graft unit as pressure grows
Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:12am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Jonathon Burch
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will form a new anti-corruption unit to investigate high-level graft after widespread criticism and demands from Washington for it to do more amid a wider regional strategy review.
The announcement comes a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bluntly warned that President Hamid Karzai and his government must do better, saying Washington wanted to see tangible evidence of Kabul's fight against rampant corruption.
On Monday, three days before Karzai was due to be sworn in for another five-year term, the government said it would set up a new body to tackle corruption and other crime.
Afghanistan has made similar announcements in the past, although previous efforts have borne little fruit.
"President Hamid Karzai ... has dedicated his five years to fighting corruption," Interior Minister Hanif Atmar, flanked by U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry and British ambassador Mark Sedwill, told reporters at a news briefing in Kabul on Monday.
The new anti-corruption unit, part of the Attorney General's department, would be formed to prosecute public corruption cases involving high-level officials and other major crimes, the Interior Ministry said later in a statement.
Ambassador Eikenberry said the issue needed to be taken seriously.
"(Corruption) requires action. Words are cheap. Deeds are required," he said.
Attention has focused on the legitimacy of Karzai's new government after a fraud-marred election in August, with U.S. President Barack Obama still to decide on a new strategy for Afghanistan that might include sending up to 40,000 more troops.
RAMPANT CORRUPTION
Karzai fell out of favor with many in the West before the August 20 election, his government seen as riddled with corruption.
Karzai and Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal have railed at the increasingly trenchant criticism from the West since Karzai's re-election was confirmed earlier this month despite findings of widespread vote fraud.
Zakhilwal told Reuters in an interview at the weekend that Western countries must share the blame for corruption in Afghanistan. Karzai has accused Western donors of mismanaging the billions of dollars of foreign aid that prop up Afghanistan's war-battered economy.
Obama has said stabilizing Afghanistan was an important part of Washington's strategy against terrorist networks which he said remained the greatest threat to U.S. security.
Fighting graft is seen as critical in winning back Afghan support in the war against a resurgent Taliban. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Obama says al Qaeda still greatest threat to U.S.
also on reuters
Blog: Route to Recovery: No country for young men
Global Finance Summit: Banks navigate a minefield
Blog: Obama doesn't Tweet, but wants open Web for China
More World News
Obama says al Qaeda still greatest threat to U.S.
| Video
U.S. raises pressure on Pakistan over Taliban, al Qaeda
| Video
Six killed in Kirkuk car bomb blast
Russia delays Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station
India puts nuclear plants on alert: report
More World News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
First U.S. marijuana cafe opens in Portland
Moviegoers make date with disaster film '2012'
Senate won't rush health bill: top Republican
Russia's Medvedev warns of climate catastrophe
With Playboy sale, an icon bows to changing times
Shuttle mission to extend life of space station
India puts nuclear plants on alert-report
U.S. arrests and charges two Madoff programmers
British scientist unmasked as call girl Belle de Jour
Obama says Washington not trying to contain China | Video
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Obama loses patience with Iran
Palestine to go to Security Council
Obama joins leaders at APEC
Mock funeral for Venice's death.
Obama arrives in China.
Out of Africa and into China
Pakistan blast near air force base
Metal monk quits rock
Obama welcomes rise of China
Thousands mourn Enke
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Route to Recovery
Shrimpers struggle
Fishermen like Steve Patronas struggle to make a living, but high costs, low prices for their catches and competition from countries like Vietnam or China are putting many of them out of business and choking off their way of life. Blog | Video
Blog: No country for young men
Video: Coffee houses ride recession
Video: Toilet ambassador lures crowd
Slideshow: On the road to recovery
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.