KABUL - Members of the Lower House this week criticized the executive branch for taking so long to send new legislation against money laundering practices to Parliament.

The law, called the "Ban on Money Laundering and Prevention from Financing Terrorism Law", has been hung up with the Council of Ministers, while MPs and economic experts have warned that further delay would only hurt the Afghan economy.

Deputy Chair of the Lower House, Saleh Muhamamd Saljuqi, was the loudest critic of the executive this week, calling the failure to move along the law "careless".

"This law can have major social and economical benefit, but there is no serious focus from the executive branch on ratification," Saljuqi said. "Inshallah, in the upcoming days, this law will be sent to the House of Representatives."

The Office of the State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs said that the modified money laundering law has been discussed by the Council of Ministers but has not yet been finalized.

Nematullah Basharwal, spokesman for Office of State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, said that as soon as his office receives the draft from the Council of Ministers it will be forwarded on to Parliament for approval.

This news comes after MP Habeeba Danesh, a member of the Lower House's Economic Committee claimed that the law was already received by the Lower House.

Top Parliament leaders said the law would be prioritized once cleared by the Council of Ministers.

Experts have said the law is critical for continued foreign aid to Afghanistan. If the law goes unapproved for another 10 weeks, Afghan banks are expected to face major obstacles in their dealings with international banks.

Banking analyst Ahmad Sareer Quarishi added that if the law is not ratified by the given deadline, Afghanistan would lose creditability and would have a hard time working with foreign banks.

Money laundering is a major issue in Afghanistan, in no small part because of the country's massive illicit drug production and smuggling industries. (Tolonews)