[Quqnoos] Afghan President launched a campaign to show his government is serious about cracking down corruption.Opening a three-day anti-corruption conference in Kabul on Tuesday, Karzai said he was well aware of the scale of the problem. "I know corruption exists in the government and elsewhere. Let's be realistic," he said. Large-scale reforms were required to root out the sort of graft that enabled officials, "after one or two years' work for the government, to get rich and buy houses in Dubai."
Afghan and Western analysts say corruption is fuelling popular support for the Taliban insurgency.
Karzai indicated there were limits to how far he would go in tackling corruption. The all-out crackdown urged on him by Western leaders could lead to abuses, he warned. "As we fight corruption, we must be extremely careful that [the fight] does not become corrupt itself," Karzai said. "Every one of our police, every one of our soldiers ... can go to someone's house, knock on the door and drag a man out of the house and terrorise him. In my opinion, this is the main form of corruption."
Karzai highlighted last week's conviction of Abdul Ahad Sayebi, Kabul mayor, who was sentenced to jail on corruption charges -- the highest ranking official to be prosecuted in recent times. Mr Sayebi is currently at liberty pending an appeal. "One very serious caution I want to say. The mayor of Kabul has been sentenced to four years' jail. I know the mayor. He is a clean person," Karzai said.
Western pressure on Karzai is intense. Last month Brown said he was "not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption". In his West Point Afghan strategy speech, Obama vowed there would be no more "blank cheques" to the Afghan government.