GARDEZ (Pajhwok): A former Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander claims dozens of ‘ghost policemen’ serving in southeastern Paktia province and their salaries end up in pockets of some individuals.
Former ALP commander Khalid Mohammad Majboor, in an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News recalled he had taken over as ALP chief for Paktia on May 1, 2019.
Majboor said he started to introduce reforms after being appointed as ALP commander. He claimed having found 71 ghost ALP personnel in the province.
He shared the issue with former Paktia police chief Brig. Gen. Mohammad Usman Janbaz. However, the ex-commander complained he was given a shut-up call.
He also showed this scribe a copy of the letter he had sent to Meshrano Jirga. The letter was referred by the relevant Senate commission to the Attorney General Office (AGO).
He blamed the ex-police chief, acting police head Lutfullah Kamran, provincial council chairman Abdul Malik Zazai and ALP commander for Zazai Aryub district Naeem for pocketing salaries of the ghost policemen.
According to Majboor, a delegation from the Ministry of Interior had traveled to Paktia to probe the issue and they had registered more than 80 ghost ALP personnel.
But Janbaz corned Majboor’s allegations as baseless. “He (Majboor) is a corrupt man, who asked the accountant in Aryub district for money. But he did not have money and Majboor stooped as low as to receive the accountant’s pistol.”
On his way back from Gardez to Aryub, the accountant was captured by Taliban, Janbaz said, adding the official had no weapon to use in self-defence and was martyred by his captors.
Acting police chief Lutfullah Kamran said the then ALP commander had been sacked on the basis of repeated complaints from his subordinates.
About the MoI delegation’s trip to the province, Kamran said the team had not travelled to Zazai Aryub district for security reasons.
“Some of his actions were inconsistent with the ALP policy, like extorting money from some commanders and ALP personnel. As a result, we dismissed him after frequent complaints. There are no ghost personnel in Pakita,” he insisted.
Naeem, the ALP commander in Zazai Aryub district, claimed Majboor had asked him to buy him a car with the subsistence allowance for ALP staff.
He said: “Majboor was our commander but he was doing illegal things and asked me to sell the meat for policemen and buy him a car.”
Malik Zazai, the PC chairman, said Majboor had approached him after he was sacked from his position. Zazai also accused him of being involved in corruption.
Marwa Amini, deputy spokeswoman for MoI, said Majboor had not returned to job after attending an education course.
She said the military personnel who stayed away from duty for more than 20 days without permission or notice were dismissed under the rules.
sa/mud
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