KABUL - Amid a surge in public concern over the issue of corruption, Afghanistan's Attorney General's Office announced that it has decided to take more robust action against the trend.
The AGO has said that those taking or receiving bribes will not be excluded from the law.
"The high ranking government officials and the ordinary citizens against whom we gathered evidence and those who were arrested on the spot while taking or receiving bribes, the AGO has dealt with in line with the law and they are now serving their jails terms in prisons in Afghanistan," AGO spokesman Basir Azizi said.
Meanwhile, a number of religious scholars and citizens have said that those paying bribes to government officials are just as guilty and have also contributed to the expansion of the trend in the country and in government institutions.
"Those who offer bribes have chosen one way and their approach is wrong, because, corruption is the biggest obstacle in the way of development and it is a central factor that undermines growth," a religious scholar Maulavi Habibullah Hisam said.
"We are deeply concerned about the next generation, if the same trend is imposed on them, this will create problems for them as well," local resident Mehrollah said.
In a recent survey, the European Union (EU) announced that the majority of Afghans do not trust in the effectiveness of government institutions.
"If there are ten good people, another thousand are not on the right path, so the government must stop those who are violating the law," university student Najib said.
According to field experts, corruption and the culture of bribery threatens the integrity of markets, undermines fair competition and distorts the allocation of resources in the country. Corruption is also one of the biggest impediments in the way of economic development and affects rule of law. (Tolonews)