SHARANA (Pajhwok): Civil society activists and the youth on Wednesday demanded the government banish corruption from the public sector offices in southeastern Paktika province.
They held a gathering at the Tribal Affairs Directorate in Sharana, the provincial capital, calling for tainted officials to be prosecuted.
Khurshid Aman Katawazi, deputy head of the Coordination Office of Civil Society Groups in Paktika, told the gathering corruption ran rampant in the provincial administration.
He alleged not only government officials from low-ranking to high-ranking but the provincial council and parliament members were also complicit in corruption.
Katawazi urged the government to root out corruption from Paktika departments and punish officials involved. He also said the government should provide jobs to educated youth.
In his address, deputy provincial governor Attaullah Fazli acknowledged high level administrative corruption in the province.
He claimed then officials had executed substandard reconstruction projects and had been directly involved in corruption and other illegal activities.
Fazli said problems the youth faced in Paktika would be once again shared with the authorities in Kabul.
Provincial council member, Mobin Faqirzada, said the council would try its level best within its authority to combat corruption in the provincial departments.
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