Integrity Score 380
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Progress and Pitfalls of “Peace-Building”
in Afghanistancontinues....
Trust and confidence in the national government can be gained through
the establishment of democratic institutions reflecting an inclusive
representation. The reported optimism of 2001 and large expectations
from the new Interim Government of Karzai now seems to have been
dissipated to a large extent and the cause of frustration seems to be the
alleged slow pace of economic and social development, poor government
performance and widespread unemployment. Lack of faith in the
government is extensive. Fairly or not, the government is seen to have not
delivered on expectations. It is still too early to know whether the
Parliament and Provincial assemblies will be perceived as providing a
voice to the people or simply as ineffective and ‘self-serving institutions’.
The Parliament is backed by the drug lords, warlords and criminal elements. Besides, the government is plagued by organized crimes, the challenges posed by the Taleban, the Al-Qaeda and other organized criminals. While there has been improved ministerial and administrative
capacity and performance in some cases, continuing weak capacity,
particularly of the judiciary, reduces the legitimacy of the state. This has also been a factor in weakening the states’ ability to set and implement policies. In the course of interactions with ordinary Afghans a picture about the lack of trust in the government emerged.
To be continued....