The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, after two decades of showcasing its power, collapsed on August 15, 2021. The reasons for this collapse were multifaceted, involving internal and external dimensions. Internal factors contributing to the collapse of the Republic included political, social, economic, cultural, and military issues, corruption, and the twenty-year war. This article focuses on the role of corruption in the downfall of the Republic. According to Ibn Khaldun, political, administrative, and moral corruption are fundamental factors leading to the collapse of states. During the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, various forms of political, administrative, and moral corruption were present in military and civilian institutions. This article examines and analyzes the following three components:
Political Corruption: Over the twenty years of the Republic, extensive electoral fraud occurred in presidential, parliamentary, and provincial council elections. Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani were declared winners of the presidential elections due to engineered fraud by domestic and foreign actors. It is said that Mohammad Ashraf Ghani seized power from his electoral rival Abdullah Abdullah through pressure and threats from the Americans. In an interview with BBC Persian, Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, a former Afghan Foreign Minister, said, “I witnessed Zalmay Khalilzad threatening Dr. Abdullah Abdullah’s election team to accept the election results in favor of Ashraf Ghani.” This undermined public trust in the electoral process and distanced them from the government.
Furthermore, appointments to mid- and high-level government positions were based not on merit but on connections related to ethnic, linguistic, group, and geographical affiliations. Additionally, the role of the fifth column as a destructive element within the Afghan government was significant. Members of the fifth column entered the government through political corruption. These two recent factors are also considered key causes of the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from the perspective of political corruption.
Administrative Corruption: After the Bonn Conference and the establishment of the Republic in Afghanistan, billions of dollars in humanitarian aid flowed from around the world for post-war reconstruction. The lack of proper management of these funds provided opportunities for government officials to accumulate wealth. Foreigners, with their vast amounts of money, bribed tribal leaders, political leaders, and those they brought from Western countries to secure their interests and implement their plans. Subsequently, bribery and corruption spread throughout all levels of the newly established Afghan government, leading to widespread corruption among government employees. Corruption existed from top to bottom and was seen as a termite destroying the state. The leadership’s symbolic fight against corruption was ineffective as the government itself was deeply immersed in corruption. According to Transparency International’s annual report for 2018, Afghanistan was ranked fourth in terms of administrative corruption, following Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria. According to an OCCRP report in 2021, Ashraf Ghani was listed among the world’s most corrupt individuals of the year. Moreover, the Afghan government leadership was deeply entangled in corruption and often was not focused on serving the country or preserving the state. Meanwhile, a few individuals who worked sincerely for the country and the state’s survival were marginalized by the mafia groups within the system. Ashraf Ghani appointed Ajmal Ahmadi, a family member, as the Afghanistan Central Bank’s head. Despite not being proficient in Persian or Pashto and not receiving parliamentary approval, Ghani kept him in the position until the last day of the Afghan government’s fall. The Afghan parliament had accused the Afghanistan Central Bank’s head of transferring millions of dollars abroad in collusion with Ashraf Ghani’s political allies, including Hamdullah Mohib, Fazl Mahmood Fazli, Abdul Salam Rahimi, Hanif Atmar, and others. There are claims that he is a Lebanese citizen but was given a fake identity from the Ghazni province of Afghanistan.
Judicial and Legal Sector Corruption: The judicial and legal sectors were also plagued by corruption, questioning the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Financial and administrative corruption, personal and group relationships, political and mafia pressures, nepotism, and tribal affiliations played a decisive role in the fate of cases related to these institutions. Such practices led to distrust and resentment among citizens towards the government. In contrast, the opponents of the Afghan government used the existence of corruption in government agencies as a powerful propaganda tool against the Republic. Many judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers, despite receiving high monthly salaries from the government, engaged in extensive corruption, even releasing dangerous prisoners in exchange for bribes and maintaining connections.
Logistical Contracts Corruption: The logistics contracts for the armed forces were often awarded to individuals close to senior officials and the President. Contractors committed fraud in the quality, weight, and quantity of goods provided to the security forces. Soldiers frequently complained about this issue, but it was not given serious attention by government officials. There were also reports of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment being sold, and soldiers being traded by some of their commanders. Some senior commanders created lists of fictitious soldiers and obtained their salaries from mafia networks within the government. Occasionally, military personnel faced difficulties in obtaining food and drinking water at posts and used social media and the press to draw attention from the government leadership. Soldiers and lower-ranking officers were aware of the corruption among political and military leaders, which diminished their loyalty to the government.
Additional Corruption Issues: Other corruption issues included the Kabul Bank scandal, state land grabs, taxes on mobile phone credit cards, extortion by commanders and local influential figures, political injustice, etc. These types of corruption were also factors in weakening the government.
Moral Corruption: Corruption was not only political and administrative but also moral by the end of the Republic. Even within the Presidential Palace, moral corruption reached its peak. General Habibullah Ahmadzai, a senior security advisor to Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, stated, “Fazl Mahmood Fazli, the head of the Presidential Office, and some of his close associates in the Presidential Palace engaged in moral corruption. Fazli used to ensure women’s victory in parliamentary elections in exchange for sexual favors and took money from men to help them enter the parliament. Others in the Palace systematically promoted immorality.” This claim was confirmed by Mariam Wardak, another former advisor to Ashraf Ghani, who was angered by the issue. Former Afghan Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Industries, Narges Nehan, also confirmed the issue of moral misconduct within the Presidential Palace, stating, “A group of us women discussed the issue of moral corruption with Ashraf Ghani, but he took no action.” Therefore, moral corruption exists in government institutions. Some women faced serious problems and various forms of harassment. While this issue was prevalent in major cities, it was less reported in some districts and villages. Although the extent of moral corruption might not have been very wide, when these issues were reported in the media, they became propaganda material for the government’s opponents. Given Afghanistan’s religious and traditional society’s strong reaction to such issues, it led to rural and religious school communities joining the opposition to the Republic. It should be noted that no society in history has been free from moral corruption, nor will it ever be. However, its extent varies across human societies. Interestingly, due to social, and cultural limitations, and marriage restrictions, Afghan men suffer from severe sexual deprivation. Even those who react against others’ illicit relationships do not refrain from such acts if given the opportunity.
In summary, political, administrative, and moral corruption within the Republic’s institutions led to the paralysis of the government apparatus. This made it highly effective for the opponents of the Republic to mobilize public opinion against it. Indeed, corruption was the termite that destroyed the state from within.
You can read the Persian version of this article here:
