KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday issued a decree invalidating the contract recently signed with a bankrupt debtor of Kabul Bank.

Khalilullah Frozi – one of the biggest convicts behind the embezzlement of Kabul Bank's over $900 million USD – was freed from prison on Wednesday to inaugurate the "Smart City Township" project he signed with the Ministry of Urban Development.

At the inaugural ceremony of the project worth $900 million USD, the government officials said the program was aimed at helping the debtors to become able to repay their obligations.

However after serious pressures on the government, Ghani eventually decreed the cancelation of the contract.

Based on a statement from presidential palace, Ghani has also ordered a thorough investigation of the contract signed with Frozi – who was sentenced to 10 years in jail in a court verdict last November.

Ghani has also upheld the court decisions against the debtors of Kabul Bank, it added.

This comes after the launch of project led to mounting criticism of government.

Before the cancellation of the project, a number of members of Parliament on Saturday accused the government of supporting criminals and corrupt persons.

They said the unlawful decision of government indicated a huge corruption within the Presidential Palace.

"The president by doing so showed he is supporting the thieves who looted national property," MP Dawood Kalakani said.

Recently, the legal experts also spoke out against the project and called it a violation of Criminal Law of Afghanistan.

Officials of anti-corruption bodies had also strongly criticized the government for what they said releasing a corrupt person from jail.

According to them, this act of government would lead to a big public mistrust in government's years of efforts to curb corruption. (Tolonews)