Karzai Aide Under Scrutiny for Corruption

This certainly doesn't bode well for Afghan President Karzai's public vow to crack down on corruption: Afghan officials have told The Washington Post that Mohammad Zia Salehi, one of the Karzai’s close advisers, was not only arrested and charged with soliciting a bribe, but is being investigated for purportedly providing luxury vehicles and money to Karzai's allies and speaking with Taliban insurgents over the phone. The sources also claim that Karzai was the one who swooped in to facilitate Salehi's release. Nasrullah Stankezi, a legal adviser to Karzai, denied that Karzai intervened, while Karzai's official spokesperson declined to comment. The timing and circumstances of Salehi's release are curious, to say the least: Salehi was released after Afghan investigators had commenced corruption probes against officials close to the president. After Salehi was free, Karzai formed a commission that ultimately determined that those investigators violated Salehi's human rights and operated out of bounds of the Afghan constitution.