Ahmad Wali Karzai: Power and Corruption in Afghanistan

1352 Words3 Pages

Power is one of the key terms in changing the political and social destiny of the people within a specific territory. Different usage of power may clearly results in failure or success of the citizens in the society. Corruption has been recognized as one of the major hinders to the “good governance and rule of law and as an obstacle for sustainable, private-sector-led economic growth” (Basar, Eray. p. 4). According to the Transparency International one of the definitions used for corruption is the “abuse of entrusted power for private gain”, thus The Asian Development Bank describe the corruption as “behavior in which officials improperly and unlawfully enrich themselves and/or those close to them” (p.4).

With establishment of the new regime in the last 12 years, land-grabbing has become one of the major sources of saving vast wealth and construction of protected illegal trade for powerful social and political figures. According to a parliamentary commission survey 1,290,000 acres have been grabbed mostly for the aim of constructing 350 residential towns out of which 256 have been legally built. Governmental actors had played a key role in supporting the non-governmental and even officials for grabbing the lands by providing the political protection for receiving the gained benefits (Sultani, Mohammad Yasin).

By 2008 half brother of the highest authority in Afghanistan, the president’ brother was accused of series corruption chains around the country despite his continuous denials. According to The New York Times, Ahmad Wali Karzai worked for the CIA with a regular payment for eight years (Goodspeed, Peter). Moreover he has been leading the land grabbing and has been accused of opium trafficking by using his political conne...

... middle of paper ...

...ollowers of Wali Karzia’s? Will they by able to continue the trade and cooperate with the new government?

Works cited

Goodspeed, Peter. “Ahmad Wali Karzai: From waiter to “King of Kandahar”. The reality of life in Afghanistan. June 2, 2010. Web. 10 November. 2013.

Bowaman, Tom. “Karzai's Brother Tied To Corrupt Afghan Land Deals”. February 1. 2010. Web. 10 November. 2013.

Tisdall, Simon. “Ahmed Wali Karzai, the corrupt and lawless face of modern Afghanistan”. News/World news/Ahmad Wali Karzai. 12 July, 2011. Web. 8 November, 2013.

Liiv, Mari-Liis. The Causes of Adminstrative Corruption. “Hyphotheses for Central and Eastern Europe”. Print.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Corruption in Afghanistan, Recent patterns and trends. Vienna. 2012.

Vulnerabilities to Corruption Assessments. Fighting Corruption in Afghanistan. The World Bank. 2009

More about Ahmad Wali Karzai: Power and Corruption in Afghanistan

Open Document