KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Saturday accused foreigners of fuelling administrative corruption in the country, hoping the level of graft would come down after the 2014 withdrawal of NATO-led troops.
Addressing a gathering marking International Anti-corruption Day in Kabul, Karzai said there were two root causes of corruption -- his government's failure to enforce the rule of law and the opportunities created by foreigners.
Most of the corruption originated from big deals and contracts by foreigners with some government officials and their associates, he said. "I am sure, a limited number of foreigner troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014, their contracts and institutions will disappear."
Karzai also rejected a recent report of Transparency International as a move toward weakening his government. Afghanistan should have real sovereignty, Karzai stressed, hoping such propaganda should not be not repeated in future.
"The corruption in our administration is small, the major corruption that involves hundreds of millions of dollars is not ours; it has been imposed on us. The big corruption is in transactions and contracts involving outsiders," he remarked.
The foreign troops staying after 2014 would help the country, he said, calling for strengthening of Afghan security forces and respect for national sovereignty included Afghanistan's basic conditions for a security pact with the US.
Karzai said he would travel to the United States next month to discuss over the bilateral security agreement and share Afghanistan's demands with American officials.
While Afghanistan was ready for the agreement, he said: "We hope the US will consider our interests … and both countries will stay in contact." He would be travelling to America with an open mind to discuss the number of US troops staying in Afghanistan after 2014, the president said.
"Without doubt, the presence of foreigners after 2014 will benefit our country; we wanted them to be stationed in areas where they could best serve our people." Karzai said he would also discuss the legal jurisdiction over American troops and foreign-controlled jails. (Pajhwok)