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Afghans Depend on Taliban Shadow Gov't
CAIRO – Afghans are increasingly turning to shadow Taliban officials to solve their problems because they offer a different model of governance that it quicker and corruption-free.
"These people in the shadow government are running the country now," MP Khalid Pashtoon told The Washington Post on Tuesday, December 8.
"These people in the shadow government are running the country now," MP Khalid Pashtoon told The Washington Post on Tuesday, December 8.
Taliban established an elaborate shadow government of governors, police chiefs, district administrators and judges in most provinces.
Pashtoon, a lawmaker from Kandahar, says many Afghans now go to Taliban to solve their problems.
"Islamic law is always quicker. You get resolution on the spot," he explained.
"If they had brought the case to the government courts, it would have taken a year or two years, or maybe it would never be resolved at all.
"With the Taliban, it takes an hour."
The Taliban regime was ousted by the US, which invaded Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.
The group has been engaged in protracted guerrilla warfare against the US-led foreign forces and the West-backed government of Hamid Karzai.
A recent report by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) said that Taliban had widened its influence to cover almost all Afghanistan.
Clean Taliban
Many Afghans prefer the decisive authority of the Taliban to the corruption-tainted Karzai government.
"There is no stealing, there is no corruption," Malik Hazratullah, a tribal leader, told the Post.
"The Taliban has implemented Islamic law."
Hajji Hakimullah, a 38-year-old shop owner in the southern province of Laghman, celebrated the ouster of Taliban in 2001.
But with the rampant corruption, he now hopes they would be back in power.
He complains that government officials repeatedly ask for bribes to let him operate his shop.
The Karzai government has earned a bad reputation for widespread corruption, with everything, from jobs to education, having a price.
The Governor of Laghman, Lutfullah Mashal, is reportedly taking money from the sale of state lands, earning profits on the local timber trade and stumbling reconstruction projects for bribes.
A court on Monday sentenced the mayor of Kabul to a four-year prison term for corruption and abuse of power.
Transparency International, a German organization that gauges honesty in government, ranked Afghanistan 176 out of 180 countries in 2008.
Pashtoon, a lawmaker from Kandahar, says many Afghans now go to Taliban to solve their problems.
"Islamic law is always quicker. You get resolution on the spot," he explained.
"If they had brought the case to the government courts, it would have taken a year or two years, or maybe it would never be resolved at all.
"With the Taliban, it takes an hour."
The Taliban regime was ousted by the US, which invaded Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.
The group has been engaged in protracted guerrilla warfare against the US-led foreign forces and the West-backed government of Hamid Karzai.
A recent report by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) said that Taliban had widened its influence to cover almost all Afghanistan.
Clean Taliban
Many Afghans prefer the decisive authority of the Taliban to the corruption-tainted Karzai government.
"There is no stealing, there is no corruption," Malik Hazratullah, a tribal leader, told the Post.
"The Taliban has implemented Islamic law."
Hajji Hakimullah, a 38-year-old shop owner in the southern province of Laghman, celebrated the ouster of Taliban in 2001.
But with the rampant corruption, he now hopes they would be back in power.
He complains that government officials repeatedly ask for bribes to let him operate his shop.
The Karzai government has earned a bad reputation for widespread corruption, with everything, from jobs to education, having a price.
The Governor of Laghman, Lutfullah Mashal, is reportedly taking money from the sale of state lands, earning profits on the local timber trade and stumbling reconstruction projects for bribes.
A court on Monday sentenced the mayor of Kabul to a four-year prison term for corruption and abuse of power.
Transparency International, a German organization that gauges honesty in government, ranked Afghanistan 176 out of 180 countries in 2008.
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