Afghanistan has become Corrupt-istan

Image by Getty Images via @daylife“There are 50 of them,” Mr. Hakimi said. “The corrupt ones. All the Afghans know who they are.'
By Dexter Filkins


Kabul - THE government of President Hamid Karzai may be awash in corruption, venality and graft, but if you walk the tattered halls of the ministries here, it is remarkably easy to find an honest man.

 
Fazel Ahmad FaqiryarOne of them is Fazel Ahmad Faqiryar, who last month took the politically risky course of trying to prosecute senior members of Mr. Karzai’s government. Two weeks ago, Mr. Faqiryar was fired from his job as deputy attorney general — on the order, it appears, of Mr. Karzai himself.


“The law in this country is only for the poor,” Mr. Faqiryar said afterward.

Complete article:

• Inside Corrupt-istan, a Loss of Faith in Leaders (nytimes.com)
• Graft-Fighting Prosecutor Is Dismissed in Afghanistan (nytimes.com)