Herat youths participate in anti-corruption race

HEART CITY (PAN): The Youths of western Heart and six other provinces chanted slogans against corruption during a running race in western Herat province, an official said on Saturday.

An international anti-graft watchdog, Transparency International, late on Wednesday ranked Afghanistan’s top most corrupt countries in the world.

Up to 200 youths in Herat province ran in the 5-kilometre race from the city’s Ghor Gate neighborhood to Herat Stadium to bring attention to corruption, organizers said. 

Mohammad Khalil Parsa, chairman of the youths’ organisation in Afghanistan and one of the organizers, told Pajhwok Afghan News that a similar race was organized in Bamyan province by the Afghan Anti-Corruption Network (AACN).

The race aimed to promote national unity, eliminate corruption, and bring peace and stability to the country, he added.

Abdul Ghafar Kakar, a civil society activist, said corruption has reached an all-time high in Afghanistan and that people were tired of it, adding that by organizing events such as the race in Herat organizers hoped to force the government to eliminate corruption and introduce reform. 

Muhammad Hassan, 21, blamed ordinary people for bribing officials. If they do not offer bribes, the officials would not become corrupt, he added.

nz/myn