KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai held a consultative session with university teachers, defence lawyers and public prosecutors on reforms in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Presidential Palace said on Wednesday.

The gathering took place at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday evening and a number of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries members, human rights activists, women and representatives of civil society groups were also present.

The participants floated proposals that concerned the standards for appointing the AGO’s leadership council, preventing corruption and implementing the spirit of laws and punishment.

They urged the president to bring drastic reforms to the country’s top lawyer’s office, a statement from the Presidential Palace said.

It quoted President Ashraf Ghani as saying that reforms in the AGO were a matter of survival because it worked to maintain justice. “We should have an AGO the people trust in,” he said.

Ahmadzai stressed the AGO should treat every individual on commensurate level. “No one is powerful or weak before the institution of law. Everyone has rights under the law.”

The president said the private sector could not be developed without the supremacy of law, saying law enforcement would bring about basic changes in the country.

He also stressed the need for an end to the culture of corruption and urged the media to help strengthen the anti-graft campaign. (Pajhwok)