KABUL — After a series of meetings with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Friday that he would support the independent work of two anti-corruption law enforcement units that had come under political pressure from his office after the arrest of one of his aides last month.
Kerry, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made an unscheduled return to Kabul on Thursday to continue discussions he began with Karzai earlier in the week. He traveled to Afghanistan in part to discuss U.S. concerns over Karzai’s decision to exert control over the work of the Major Crimes Task Force and the Special Investigative Unit, two U.S.-backed Afghan law enforcement teams that arrested a senior security adviser, Mohammad Zia Salehi, on allegations of corruption.
“President Karzai reiterated that it was a key national security interest of Afghanistan to address corruption and its underlying causes comprehensively and across the board,” Kerry said in a statement.
Kerry and Karzai made an appearance together after their meeting Friday. Karzai’s office issued a separate statement saying the two agreed on the need to reduce civilian casualties, disband private security firms and accelerate the process of Afghan control over the nation’s affairs.
Karzai’s statement added that the anti-corruption teams should be free of “foreign interference or political influence.”
Afghan officials familiar with Salehi’s case said Karzai personally intervened to release him from jail the same day he was arrested. The president’s criticism of the anti-corruption teams has hampered the ability of investigators to pursue cases against Karzai’s allies, the officials said. Karzai has accused the teams of violating human rights and working outside the constitution.
Salehi, who works with Afghanistan’s national security council, was arrested on allegations of soliciting a bribe to help shut down an investigation into a politically connected money-transfer business. He also was under investigation for allegedly doling out cash and vehicles from a palace fund, the officials said.
Some Afghans were skeptical of Karzai’s renewed commitment to fighting corruption.
Fawzia Koofi, a member of parliament, said: “When it comes to President Karzai’s commitment to corruption and rule of law, I’m not very hopeful. There’s very little sense of accountability; there’s no checks and balances. . . . Their efforts against corruption don’t prevent corruption. It is just words to make it look like they are doing something.”
