Sarobi district chief detained on corruption charges

SHARANA (Pajhwok): The Sarobi district chief of northeastern Paktika province has been detained by intelligence officials on administrative corruption and forgery charges, officials said on Sunday.

The accused, Mohabbat Kharoti, was shown to media persons in Sharana, the provincial capital, by National Directorate of Security (NDS) personnel.

An NDS official told Pajhwok Afghan News the district chief was detained on bribery and forgery charges. He said Kharoti had committed corruption and fraud in distribution of aid to displaced families.

“The district chief has issued fake cards to his relatives to benefit from the aid that was for people in need. We have 13 copies of the ID cards as proof.”

He said the district chief had embezzled nearly one million afghanis. Kharoti would be referred to judicial organs soon.

A displaced person from Omnai district living in Sarobi district, Jafar, said aid-giving organizations had announced assistance for them, but they were yet to receive that. “We know who has looted the aid and why it did not reach us.”

NDS officials had earlier detained many government officials on charges of corruption in several provinces, including Paktika.

sns/ma