New born Democracy, corruption or inheritance?

editorial assistance by Janel Blanchard

On May 23rd, 2007, an article was published in Kabul press^? entitled “Nepotism, cronyism, and incompetence have ruined the Ministry of Counter-narcotics.” The article exposed former Minister of Counter-narcotics Eng. Habibullah Qaderi’s lack of administrative abilities and general inefficiency as a Cabinet Minister.

No action was taken after the exposure of Qaderi’s corruption. Not only did Qaderi keep his position, but he was rewarded with the post of General Council of Afghanistan in Toronto, Canada. This promotion shocked the nation and international communities and subjected the government to criticism. Qaderi’s legacy still plagues the Ministry, as he enacted no reforms and his lack of management skills and general incompetence are well known. How is it beneficial for him now to represent Afghanistan as an elite diplomat, trusted with managing Afghanistan’s international affairs? He is responsible for continuing to damage its international reputation and alienating its supporters.

The personnel and employees who were shifted by Qaderi’s administration to the Ministry of Counter Narcotics from the Ministry of Refugees significantly diminished its reputation due to their inefficiencies. Now, almost all those employees have migrated to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation at the service of Hamidullah Qaderi (brother of Habibullah Qaderi). We can expect them to loot that Ministry’s finances as they previously looted the Ministry of Counter Narcotics. The term “civil servants” is a misnomer; these workers are in the business of corruption under the Qaderi brothers. It may be that this is a separate issue, so we will now turn back to the issues surrounding Habibullah Qaderi.

The so-called engineer Habibullah Qaderi’s relations, dealings and connections are solid proof of his corruption and un-lawful actions in the community. For example, we can name his relationship with Ebraahim Pacha, a currency exchange dealer in Karachi, Pakistan, and the officer in charge of money transfers for the Taliban. Pacha was originally from Kandahar and is one of the most famous drug traffickers of our time.

After the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, a huge sum of Taliban money, $40 million, remained with Ebraahim Pacha. The Taliban demanded the return of their money, but he refused. First, the Taliban warned him and he was later shot by two Taliban members in his shop in Karachi. The money had already been spent to purchase luxury bungalows and houses in the posh areas of Wazir Akbar Khan, Share naw, Khushal mena, Karte 3 and Karte 4 districts of Kabul city.

After Ebraahim Pacha’s assassination, Habibullah Qaderi married his daughter to Bilal, Ebraahim Pacha’s son. Bilal, who had taken refuge in Canada after his father’s death gave power of attorney to Habibullah Qaderi (who also was one of Pacha’s associates) to sell 36 houses and bungalows in Kabul for much higher prices, then sent his daughter to Canada.

After completing his financial transactions in Kabul, and to retain the fortune he made from the houses, he established himself as General Council of the Afghan embassy in Toronto, Canada. This act of corruption is just one more example of a high-ranking official claiming to be a transparent and honest, but is in fact a fraud.

The above is only a brief explanation of the corruption of Mr. Habibullah Qaderi, and we hope that in Afghanistan’s future such people will be classified as criminals and made to answer to this nation, still suffering from three decades of war and chaos.