Kabul yet to prosecute high-profile graft cases: SIGAR

The situation in Afghanistan is consistent with a largely lawless, weak and dysfunctional government, America’s federal watchdog says.
Many corruption cases are yet to be prosecuted due to the lack of political will, said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR.
A citing a Department of Justice report, the watchdog referred to problems within the Anti-Corruption Justice Center (ACJC), set up in 2016 by President Ashraf Ghani.
In its latest report, SIGAR blamed the ACJC for going after low-level offenders instead of pursuing big graft cases, such as a case at the Herat passport office.
Calling the fight against the Taliban insurgents a stalemate, the watchdog said the Afghan government controlled or influenced about 56 percent of the country’s 407 districts as of May 15.
The government’s control remains unchanged from last quarter. On the other hand, the militants lost control or influence in three districts.
Afghan forces may have grown in size since last quarter to 314,242 personnel, but they have lost 8,500 personnel since April 2017 and 5,353 since April 2016, SIGAR said.