Karzai and his team should be called to justice

My article from December 2014. 

These days, just when life should be improving in Afghanistan, its people are going through hell. Kabul is under attack almost every day, with the Taliban targeting security forces and public areas.

Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Despite receiving billions in international aid, still millions of Afghans live in severe poverty. The country produces more narcotics than any other, and nobody is safe.

Sadly, the Taliban and other insurgent groups have risen to power again and can easily attack any part of the country. Suicide bombers recently targeted a football ground and cultural centre. It was no coincidence that the explosion was timed to go off during a theater performance called ‘Beating heart; the silence after the explosion’. Many civilians and journalists were killed or wounded. In addition to taking responsibility for the attack, the Taliban issued a serious threat to the media and all cultural organizations that it would attack more of them in the future.

According to Afghanistan’s chief intelligence, “due to a lack of facilities to monitor the movements of terrorists in the capital Kabul, 107 terrorism hubs are active around this province”.

He raised his concerns while briefing lawmakers along with acting ministers for security sectors on Wednesday, December 17.

Referring to how unsafe they feel, many Afghans refer to staying alive as an ‘accident’ as “anyone can be the next victim of terrorist attacks”.

The new government is being heavily criticized as poor Afghans continue paying the price of bad leadership and ineffective policies from their former president and his team.

The so-called ‘government of national unity’ is the result of an election process that was inconclusive, causing a political deadlock which led to the two front-runners eventually forming a coalition leadership.

Now, the former president and his team have started acting as political analysts. His chief of staff, a well-known anti-westerner, is writing reports criticizing the USA. Meanwhile, the former national security adviser criticizes president Ghani, describing the Taliban as the ‘political opposition’.

The former Interior Minister, in his farewell speech, said President Ghani should consider other ways to bring peace to the country.

The real question is why these people didn’t reach an agreement and implement their good ideas while they were in power, instead of leaving such major problems to the next government.

Karzai himself, in meetings and interviews talking against the USA, is saying that he has documents showing that Americans did not respect Afghanistan law and policies; that they weren´t committed to the fight against terrorism; that this is why the internal peace process failed.

By saying all this, Karzai is trying to blame his failures on others in order to escape from justice. However, history will be the true judge of political leaders’ actions.

Karzai led the country for thirteen years and during his presidency Afghanistan received more than a hundred billion dollars in aid from the international community to rebuild the country.

The former president and his team failed to ensure the building of strong institutions, instead of developing their own family-based economic mafia, so that today many high-level officials, including both former vice-presidents, make millions of dollars through their control of businesses and influential contacts.

They all know that if there were an effective rule of law in the country, this corrupt set would have to face justice as national apostates.

Karzai and his team were responsible for the deadlock and other obstacles during the election. In addition, most of the fraud and other ‘irregularities’ were supported by a specific group under his influence, with the aim of jeopardizing the presidential election and so extending his time in office.

Afghanistan´s current climate of fear, instability and internal problems are directly related to the election process. Had the country enjoyed a transparent electoral process free from bribery, corruption, and threats to voters, today there could be a strong government in place able to implement the will of the nation.

Up to their last moment in power, Karzai and his team did all they could to prevent such a team from taking over, because they were all afraid of facing justice. And now they speak out against the weakness of the national unity government to manipulate the public, while the major problems are of their own heritage.

Karzai tries to create tension between the National Unity Government leaders and to use his influence to introduce his own supporters to the new cabinet

Many believe that Karzai is trying to establish a political opposition. However, if we look closely at his reactions to the government during the last two months, we can see his true objective is to seize power again.

As long as the former president and his team continue with such an agenda, the national unity government will struggle to survive. The solution is to bring Karzai and all his corrupt partners to justice, allowing Afghanistan´s people the chance to live a normal life, free from fear of attack.

Originally published at: http://www.khaama.com/karzai-and-his-team-should-be-called-to-justice-98765