PAN, January 21, 2013

Mohaqiq, Dostum and Atta Mohammad Noor accused stealing customs revenue

Abdul Rashid Dostum and Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor were also accused of pilfering the revenue of customs departments

By Painda Hekmat

A lawmaker and member of the National Front of Afghanistan, Mohammad Mohaqiq, denied involvement in seizing government-owned land and stealing the revenue of customs departments in northern provinces.

Quoting sources in the Attorney General Office and the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption, some media outlets on Sunday reported Mohaqiq and some other political figures had pocketed huge government funds

Junbish-i-Mili Party head Abdul Rashid Dostum and Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor were also accused of pilfering the revenue of customs departments in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

But Mohaqiq, in a statement from his office, vehemently rejected the report as government propaganda against him. The rulers had failed in their bid to defame jihadi leaders, he said.

Mohaqiq went on to blame the government for complicity in rampant corruption, calling the Kabul Bank crisis a clear example of how the exchequer was being plundered.

He was vice-president in the intern government and had no official duty in the north, the statement added. Provincial revenues, not centralized then, were spent on security personnel.

He asked the government to bring reform to state institutions and prevent corruption in line with its commitments at the Tokyo conference last year.

RAWA.org: Atta Mohammad Noor, Mohammad Mohaqiq and Rashid Dostum (from left to right), three infamous warlords have all been accused of stealing customs revenue.

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