Watchdog: Political Pressure Caused Attorney General to Resign

Afghanistan’s Attorney General Farid Hamidi stepped down from his post “for personal and family reasons,” according to the Presidential Palace. President Ashraf Ghani accepted his resignation, the Palace said.

However, Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) said that Hamidi resigned because political pressure was hindering his ability to do his job.

According to the IWA, Farid Hamidi was politically pressured during the investigation of corruption cases of high level government officials.

The IWA says that the political pressure caused these cases not be investigated.

Ghani’s deputy spokesman Dawa Khan Menapal said that the president will soon announce a new candidate to lead as Attorney General of Afghanistan.

“The president will soon announce a new professional cadre as the Attorney General of Afghanistan,” said Menapal.

“The resignation of Attorney General has political aspects—however there were some reforms within the AGO over the past few years, but no progress was witnessed in terms of investigating major corruption cases because of the political interventions,” said Mohammad Ekram Afzali, the head of IWA.

“Fortunately until this time, we did not witness any direct interventions in the affairs of the attorney general,” said Jamshid Rasouli, a spokesman for the AGO.

Hamidi served five years in the post.