AFGHANISTAN – At least half of the Afghan forces in southern regions of the country are using drugs, and nearly 70% are “ghost soldiers,” the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said on a report.
“Afghanistan’s General Directorate for Internal Security, partnering with National Directorate of Security, found that approx. 50% of police in Kandahar, Zabul, Helmand & Uruzgan provinces used drugs and 50% to 70% of police positions were “ghost soldiers”, said SIGAR.
The report came with a surprise as the country tightened its fight against drug lords and consumers throughout the nation, while critique suggested otherwise, with roughly 70% of undocumented individuals for the security jobs.
“The government spent millions of Afghanis combating drugs, but, they did not get any result out of it,” member of the Afghan parliament Abdul Baseer Osmani reacted. “…instead we hear that 50 percent of Afghan police personnel are using drugs.”
A number of Afghan soldiers were dismissed for their direct or indirect involvement to drugs and corruption, the report said.
“General Directorate for Internal Security (GDIS) arrested approximately 1,025 police and government officials over the past year as part of its countercorruption, counter-insider threat, and counterespionage efforts,” according to report.
