Afghanistan&#39;s anti-corruption court has held its inaugural public hearings in Kabul, the first steps on the long road to transparency in one of the most corrupt countries in the world -- and expectations are immense.

Afghans hope the Criminal Justice Centre against Corruption, created by presidential decree, is destined to prosecute the rich and powerful behind major cases of graft.

These, according to anti-corruption NGO Transparency International, are numerous. Afghanistan is at the very bottom of their authoritative global ranking, alongside North Korea and Somalia.

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&quot;It is a very important moment that will put an end to impunity. One hopes to reach the highest levels of the state, to the former ministers and important people who were never held to account until now,&quot; says Yama Torabi, chairman of the Independent Committee for the Observation of Corruption.&nbsp;

The anti-corruption centre, the fulfilment of a promise made by President Ashraf Ghani to the international community last May, is armed with prosecutors, judges and police criminal investigators, and had a war chest of half a million dollars for its first four months.

It is headed by a 32-year-old judge, Mohammed Alif Urfani, who sits in prefabricated offices in a heavily guarded compound between the headquarters of the special police and the anti-drug units.&nbsp;

Threats and pressures 
&quot;I see two types of threats: within the government, some do not want the centre to work; and the Taliban, they do not want the government to be strong,&quot; he told AFP.&nbsp;

A father of two young children, Urfani is guarded by two soldiers and one member of the Afghan intelligence service.&nbsp;

&quot;I have not received any direct threats, but this is just the beginning. The pressure will inevitably increase when the biggest cases are reached,&quot; he says, citing threatening phone calls received by police officers who arrested a three-star general at the Ministry of Defence.

Thirty-five people, including 14 judges, have been assigned to the centre, which comprises a court of first instance and a court of appeal.

&quot;Whoever they are, they have been checked and cleared,&quot; the spokesman for Attorney General Jamsheed Rasooli told AFP.&nbsp;

To date, they have taken 55 cases and 31 suspects behind bars, with &quot;five ministries&quot; in their sights, as well as &quot;the Central Bank of Afghanistan and the issuing authority of identity cards&quot;, he says, but gives no further details.

Earlier this month the court handed down its first sentence: two and a half years in prison for military prosecutor General Abdul Haye Jurat.

He was caught red-handed as he pocketed 50,000 Afghanis ($760) from a prisoner&#39;s family, demanded to secure the man&#39;s release at the end of his sentence.

The offence appears minor in view of the billion dollars diverted from Kabul Bank in 2010, a massive scandal that highlighted how deep the roots of corruption go in Afghanistan -- but it is a start.

&quot;The sum is small but the accused is a two-star general,&quot; said Urfani. &quot;We proved that we can bring high-ranking officers to justice.&quot;&nbsp;

- Impatience - 
&quot;We know that the population and the international community are scrutinising us,&quot; says the young judge, the only person in his village to learn to read and write. Today his childhood friends watch when he appears on television.

He regrets the &quot;impatience&quot; of Afghans: &quot;Some cases take years: when you want to bring a minister to justice, you need proof and to arrest the people involved. If you go too fast, you will lose.&quot;&nbsp;

At a very high level, witnesses fear for their relatives. &quot;People are scared to help us, they fear kidnappings, the mafia is inside the government,&quot; he says.&nbsp;

The first hearings were attended by a large number of foreign observers, including those of the embassies which financially support the centre - the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in particular.&nbsp;

&quot;This is a considerable challenge when it&#39;s about the rich and powerful... Corruption is the basic problem,&quot; the European Union ambassador, Franz-Michael Mellbin, told AFP, referring to the many &quot;ghost employees&quot; of the ministries and even of the army or the police.

But both the international community and the Afghan people must be realistic, he added.&nbsp;

&quot;Previously a lot of cases were poorly prepared and it was very easy for defence lawyers to dismiss them,&quot; he adds, justifying the need to &quot;isolate the institution from the power to let them work and gather the evidence and build the cases properly&quot;.

(AFP)

The country's anti-corruption court -- the Criminal Justice Centre against Corruption -- has held its inaugural public hearings in Kabul

Afghanistan's anti-corruption court has held its inaugural public hearings in Kabul, the first steps on the long road to transparency in one of the most corrupt countries in the world -- and expectations are immense. Afghans hope the Criminal Justice Centre against Corruption, created by presidential decree, is destined to prosecute the rich and powerful behind major cases of graft. These, according to anti-corruption NGO Transparency International, are numerous. Afghanistan is at the very bottom of their authoritative global ranking, alongside North Korea and Somalia. The court is headed by a 32-year-old judge, Mohammed Alif Urfani, who sits in prefabricated offices in a heavily guarded compound between the headquarters of the special police and the anti-drug units × "It is a very important moment that will put an end to impunity. One hopes to reach the highest levels of the state, to the former ministers and important people who were never held to account until now," says Yama Torabi, chairman of the Independent Committee for the Observation of Corruption. The anti-corruption centre, the fulfilment of a promise made by President Ashraf Ghani to the international community last May, is armed with prosecutors, judges and police criminal investigators, and had a war chest of half a million dollars for its first four months. It is headed by a 32-year-old judge, Mohammed Alif Urfani, who sits in prefabricated offices in a heavily guarded compound between the headquarters of the special police and the anti-drug units. Threats and pressures "I see two types of threats: within the government, some do not want the centre to work; and the Taliban, they do not want the government to be strong," he told AFP. A father of two young children, Urfani is guarded by two soldiers and one member of the Afghan intelligence service. "I have not received any direct threats, but this is just the beginning. The pressure will inevitably increase when the biggest cases are reached," he says, citing threatening phone calls received by police officers who arrested a three-star general at the Ministry of Defence. Thirty-five people, including 14 judges, have been assigned to the centre, which comprises a court of first instance and a court of appeal. "Whoever they are, they have been checked and cleared," the spokesman for Attorney General Jamsheed Rasooli told AFP. To date, they have taken 55 cases and 31 suspects behind bars, with "five ministries" in their sights, as well as "the Central Bank of Afghanistan and the issuing authority of identity cards", he says, but gives no further details. Earlier this month the court handed down its first sentence: two and a half years in prison for military prosecutor General Abdul Haye Jurat. He was caught red-handed as he pocketed 50,000 Afghanis ($760) from a prisoner's family, demanded to secure the man's release at the end of his sentence. The offence appears minor in view of the billion dollars diverted from Kabul Bank in 2010, a massive scandal that highlighted how deep the roots of corruption go in Afghanistan -- but it is a start. "The sum is small but the accused is a two-star general," said Urfani. "We proved that we can bring high-ranking officers to justice." - Impatience - "We know that the population and the international community are scrutinising us," says the young judge, the only person in his village to learn to read and write. Today his childhood friends watch when he appears on television. He regrets the "impatience" of Afghans: "Some cases take years: when you want to bring a minister to justice, you need proof and to arrest the people involved. If you go too fast, you will lose." At a very high level, witnesses fear for their relatives. "People are scared to help us, they fear kidnappings, the mafia is inside the government," he says. The first hearings were attended by a large number of foreign observers, including those of the embassies which financially support the centre - the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in particular. "This is a considerable challenge when it's about the rich and powerful... Corruption is the basic problem," the European Union ambassador, Franz-Michael Mellbin, told AFP, referring to the many "ghost employees" of the ministries and even of the army or the police. But both the international community and the Afghan people must be realistic, he added. "Previously a lot of cases were poorly prepared and it was very easy for defence lawyers to dismiss them," he adds, justifying the need to "isolate the institution from the power to let them work and gather the evidence and build the cases properly". (AFP)

Afghanistan takes on rich and powerful in war on graft

The husband of a British woman who was killed in Pakistan has called for the UK and Pakistani governments to ensure his wife received justice, as he sought to keep the spotlight on so-called &quot;honour&quot; killings. 
 
Mukhtar Kazam presented at an emotional press conference a copy of the post-mortem report into his wife Samia Shahid`s death, seen by AFP, which said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck, and suggested she had been strangled. 
 
Kazam has branded her death an &quot;honour killing&quot;, a near daily occurrence in Pakistan in which a relative is murdered by another for bringing the family &quot;dishonour&quot;. 
 
The practice was dragged into the international spotlight earlier this month with the killing of Qandeel Baloch, a polarising Pakistani social media star.&nbsp; 
 
Brother confesses to murder, calls sister&#39;s behaviour &#39;intolerable&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Shahid&#39;s brother has confessed to the murder, saying his sister`s behaviour had been &quot;intolerable&quot;. Kazam sought to keep international attention on &quot;honour&quot; killings when he spoke to media assembled in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, close to the capital Islamabad, Thursday. 
 
&quot;I request the British and Pakistani governments to conduct a fair trial,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
Kazam and Samia, who was a dual British-Pakistani citizen, had been married for two years and were living in Dubai, police told AFP, adding that it was Shahid&#39;s second marriage. 
? 
Kazam is Pakistani, an officer told AFP. Police had initially said that he also was British-Pakistani. 
 
Kazam said his wife converted to Shia Islam, his sect, before their wedding, which had irked her parents.&nbsp; 
 
In a complaint to police, he has claimed she was murdered during a visit to her family in their village in Punjab province on July 20. 
&nbsp; 
Shahid`s father has denied the charges and said he did not want an investigation, claiming his daughter died of natural causes.&nbsp; 
 
Police told AFP that Shahid`s first husband, Mohammad Shakeel, is being investigated in the murder but received pre-arrest bail on Thursday.&nbsp; 
 
Her parents and a cousin are also being investigated, said Jhelum district police chief Mujahid Akbar.&nbsp; 
 
Special committee formed to investigate into murder&nbsp; 
 
The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, brother to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has formed a special committee that is also tasked with investigating the murder, a senior government official told AFP. 
 
The victims of &quot;honour&quot; killings are overwhelmingly women, with hundreds killed each year.&nbsp; 
 
They have long polarised Pakistan, with progressives calling for tough legislation against them and conservatives resisting.&nbsp; 
But the murder of Qandeel Baloch appears to have spurred politicians to take action.&nbsp; 
 
Last week, the law minister announced that bills aimed at tackling loopholes that facilitate &quot;honour&quot; killings would soon be voted on by parliament. 
 
Rights groups and politicians have for years called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence against women in Pakistan.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

Mukhtar Kazam, Samia's husband, said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck suggesting she had been strangled

The husband of a British woman who was killed in Pakistan has called for the UK and Pakistani governments to ensure his wife received justice, as he sought to keep the spotlight on so-called "honour" killings. Mukhtar Kazam presented at an emotional press conference a copy of the post-mortem report into his wife Samia Shahid`s death, seen by AFP, which said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck, and suggested she had been strangled. Kazam has branded her death an "honour killing", a near daily occurrence in Pakistan in which a relative is murdered by another for bringing the family "dishonour". The practice was dragged into the international spotlight earlier this month with the killing of Qandeel Baloch, a polarising Pakistani social media star. Brother confesses to murder, calls sister's behaviour 'intolerable' Shahid's brother has confessed to the murder, saying his sister`s behaviour had been "intolerable". Kazam sought to keep international attention on "honour" killings when he spoke to media assembled in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, close to the capital Islamabad, Thursday. "I request the British and Pakistani governments to conduct a fair trial," he said. Kazam and Samia, who was a dual British-Pakistani citizen, had been married for two years and were living in Dubai, police told AFP, adding that it was Shahid's second marriage. ? Kazam is Pakistani, an officer told AFP. Police had initially said that he also was British-Pakistani. Kazam said his wife converted to Shia Islam, his sect, before their wedding, which had irked her parents. In a complaint to police, he has claimed she was murdered during a visit to her family in their village in Punjab province on July 20. Shahid`s father has denied the charges and said he did not want an investigation, claiming his daughter died of natural causes. Police told AFP that Shahid`s first husband, Mohammad Shakeel, is being investigated in the murder but received pre-arrest bail on Thursday. Her parents and a cousin are also being investigated, said Jhelum district police chief Mujahid Akbar. Special committee formed to investigate into murder The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, brother to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has formed a special committee that is also tasked with investigating the murder, a senior government official told AFP. The victims of "honour" killings are overwhelmingly women, with hundreds killed each year. They have long polarised Pakistan, with progressives calling for tough legislation against them and conservatives resisting. But the murder of Qandeel Baloch appears to have spurred politicians to take action. Last week, the law minister announced that bills aimed at tackling loopholes that facilitate "honour" killings would soon be voted on by parliament. Rights groups and politicians have for years called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence against women in Pakistan. (AFP)

Husband of UK woman killed for 'honour' in Pakistan calls for justice

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