Karzai appeals to allies to help stamp out corruption

Afghanistan’s president has appealed to his international allies and the country’s politicians to do more to help him stamp out the corruption that pervades the country’s government, and pledged personally to stop “deals” that undercut reforms.

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly promised to clean up corruption in his administration without much result.

In his address to a special session of parliament that comes weeks before an international donor conference, he said he would make a new push. “You should co-operate with me on these reforms. You have accused me of making deals. Yes, I have done so, but I had reasons. And now I am changing this. I am bringing reform from the inside,” he told the lawmakers who he had called in from their summer recess for the speech.

It was unclear what he had meant by “deals,” although the president is frequently accused of letting allies keep powerful posts despite allegations that surround them.