Karzai Fires Anti-Corruption Prosecutor
The AP reports on Afghan President Hamid Karzai's most recent handling of corruption issues in Afghanistan:
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A top Afghan prosecutor who has complained that the attorney general and others are blocking corruption cases against high-ranking government officials said Saturday that he was fired by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Deputy Attorney General Fazel Ahmed Faqiryar told the New York Times Saturday that he was fired for refusing to block corruption investigations in "the highest levels" of Karzai's government. Faqiryar told the Associated Press that he was forced to retire.
Faqiryar, 72, said he wanted to continue doing his work, which has involved pursuing corruption allegations against top officials in the Karzai administration -- a task which had put him in the middle of a political fire storm.
U.S. officials have been pressing Karzai to do more to root out corruption. Karzai has pushed back, saying that the international community needs to do more to eliminate corruption in its own contracting procedures and eliminate terrorist havens outside the borders of Afghanistan.
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