*WASHINGTON DC: *The United States on Thursday accused Afghanistan’sgovernment of failing to fight corruption and cut more than $160 million indirect funding, little over a week before the country’s elections.
While Washington has long complained of graft by its ally, the harshmeasure comes after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani clashed with PresidentDonald Trump over the US leader’s deal with the Taliban.
“We stand against those who exploit their positions of power and influenceto deprive the Afghan people of the benefits of foreign assistance and amore prosperous future,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
Pompeo said that the United States was suspending work with the Afghan bodyin charge of monitoring corruption as it is “incapable of being a partner”.
“We expect the Afghan government to demonstrate a clear commitment to fightcorruption, to serve the Afghan people and to maintain their trust,” hesaid.
“Afghan leaders who fail to meet this standard should be held accountable.”
Pompeo said the United States was taking back $100 million committed for amajor energy project, saying that Washington would fund it directly ratherthan sending the money through Afghan authorities.
He also said the United States would withhold $60 million in plannedassistance to Afghanistan’s procurement authority.
Ghani stands for re-election on September 28 in the campaign already marredby Taliban violence, with dozens killed this week including in an attack ona Ghani rally.
The last election, in 2014, ended in allegations of rigging and a politicalstalemate between Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who is again running.
They eventually reached a power-sharing arrangement after brokering by thenUS secretary of state John Kerry.
Pompeo, speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, said that the United Stateswanted “free and fair elections,” adding: “We’re going to do everything wecan to support them.”
Read Top Stories
Trump had sought to seal a deal with the Taliban before the Afghan electionas part of his goal of ending America’s longest war, launched after theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks.
Ghani had voiced strong concern over a draft deal, under which the UnitedStates would have withdrawn thousands of troops despite the Taliban’srefusal to negotiate with the internationally recognised government.
Trump, who had controversially invited both the Taliban and Ghani to theUnited States, eventually declared the talks dead, citing an attack by theinsurgents that killed a US soldier.
Alice Wells, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia,told Congress in a hearing on Thursday that the negotiations were“suspended”.
Representative Eliot Engel, the Democrat who heads the House ForeignAffairs Committee, worried that the Trump administration had no clearpolicy going forward.
“With the president declaring the deal dead, it’s not clear where we gofrom here,” he said.
Engel had summoned the US negotiator with the Taliban, Zalmay Khalilzad, totestify at the hearing but withdrew his subpoena after the veteran diplomatagreed to speak to lawmakers behind closed doors.
Former president Barack Obama also clashed with his Afghan counterpart,Hamid Karzai, with his administration saying Kabul had not curbedcorruption and became too reliant on the US military.
Under Ghani, a longtime US resident and professor of anthropology of JohnsHopkins University, US officials have credited Afghan troops with takingthe lead in fighting the Taliban.
Wells said that the United States still had myriad concerns with thedirection of Afghanistan along with corruption, including opium productionand “criminalisation of the economy.” -APP/AFP
