Dr. Ashraf Ghani

Speech at the Fourth Nationwide Prosecutors’ Conference

Keypoints:

Judicial Independence: Ensure the Attorney General acts free of all political pressure.
Rule of Law: Hold everyone, including the President, accountable to the law.
Anti-Corruption: Base all appointments on merit and skill rather than influence.
Strengthening Staff: Provide fair pay and skilled staff for an effective justice system.
Gender Justice: Prioritize the rights of women and children in the legal process.
Public Trust: Build a fair and transparent system that citizens can fully trust.
Legal Coordination: Sync the judiciary with all agencies to ensure law enforcement.
Sustainable Reform: Commit to continuous, lasting reforms instead of temporary fixes.
Lawful Justice: Require citizens to use legal paths instead of taking the law into their own hands.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Honorable Chief Justice; Honorable Chairman of the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga); Honorable Attorney General; Honorable Mr. Kashaf; Honorable Doctor Sima Samar; Honorable Vice Presidents; Honorable Mr. Sangari; all respected prosecutors; distinguished members of international organizations; and all brothers and sisters in attendance,

Khosh-Galdid! Khosh Amadid! She-Raghlast! (Welcome!)

The Attorney General’s Office as the Heart of the State

Brothers and sisters! The role of the Attorney General’s Office among the executive branches of government is like the heart in a human body. From that very perspective, its health is the cause of the efficiency, activity, and vitality of this entire structure; and on the contrary, its contamination, corruption, and illness are the causes of the inefficiency and futility of the system as a whole, and lead to the ruin of all of it. For this reason, I would like, as I have said before, to repeat once more that: Dear prosecutors! You are in the front line of a great and decisive effort, and you can, by fulfilling the important mission that has been placed upon your shoulders, have an undeniable and lasting role in the transformation of the country toward the rule of law, transparency of the system, and good governance.

In the same way, any kind of inefficiency in the apparatus of the Attorney General’s Office, or negligence and lack of a sense of duty among the prosecutors of the country, in addition to damaging the credibility of the entire government apparatus, will also place you in the path of the people's anger and severe accountability.

The Mandate of Justice and Stability

Since the philosophy of an Islamic system is exactly the justice-centered nature of the entire government apparatus, and for this reason, the securing of justice is not only a professional obligation for you and every individual part of the government, but it is also a collective and individual religious responsibility for us. Because the strengthening of justice, and the impartial and independent securing of it, are among the most key elements of securing political stability.

As the President, I have complete faith in the independence of the judicial and legal sector of the country; I have not interfered in legal and judicial affairs, I do not, and I will not, and I will also not allow others to interfere in your professional affairs. Every type of interference in legal and judicial decision-making is a crime.

The Independence of the Office

Honorable Attorney General! You have the right to put anyone who commits a crime on trial. When I say the Attorney General’s Office is an independent organ, it means that its functioning is completely non-political and entirely professional, and political conflicts should not have any impact on it. The wise statesmanship of the country’s politicians is revealed in the place where their activity leads to the strengthening of justice and the improvement of the work of the legal and judicial apparatuses. For this reason, I expect and request from the political class of the country that they support reforms in this field and do not allow an obstacle to be found against it.

In our country, there is a consensus that our legal and judicial apparatus must work with independence, must be the executor of justice, and must implement the Constitution. For this reason, coming out of this consensus is like leaving the village; and whoever leaves the village, leaves the law and leaves the established norms (Narkh). Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to understand the norm, and the norm is all one norm, which is the Constitution of Afghanistan; there is no other obligation. From the lowest-ranking official of the government to myself, all are subject to the law; and Honorable Attorney General and Honorable Chief Justice! If you see the smallest law-breaking in me or those around me, start with us first.

The Transition to Meritocracy

The transformations that have come into existence in our Attorney General’s Office compared to past years are hopeful and promising. Perceptible steps have been taken for the struggle against corruption, and the reforms that have been put into execution have caused the encouragement and hope of the people, the government, and also the international community. One of these actions has been that in the movement of cadres, criteria have taken the place of connections, and the Honorable Attorney General has performed transfers and appointments on the basis of merit. Every proposal that reaches me on the basis of merit, I sign with my eyes closed, on the condition that it is on the basis of merit and impartiality; the Chief Justice is also a witness and the Attorney General as well.

Merit means having a clean background, professional ability, legal understanding, and work commitment; and these have been the criteria that have been considered in recent reforms. Prosecutors who take action for reforms in the fields of their authority while considering these criteria, and prove their merit based on these standards, themselves and their activities will be under our decisive support; and to each and every one of these sincere children of the homeland, I say that you should move forward with grit and courage and let no hesitation or fear into your hearts, because the government and the nation stand beside you and we will never leave you alone on this path.

Gender Justice and Professional Welfare

Also, I am happy that gender justice and what is called the issue of "Gender" has been well-considered in the administration of the Attorney General’s Office and the reforms that are at hand, and the share of ladies compared to the past has increased and this process will continue further. In this same direction, the Deputy Office of "Elimination of Violence Against Women, Dealing with Juvenile Violations, and Human Rights" has been activated within the framework of this administration; and I thank Honorable Maliha Hassan for performing a very positive and active role in this section.

Among other notable actions that the Attorney General’s Office has performed is the establishment of communication with relevant administrations and the creation of necessary coordination with them, so that through this, the ways of implementing the law and executing justice are paved in a better way. Based on the importance that reforms in this apparatus had for us, the efforts of the Honorable Attorney General for increasing the salaries and rights of his colleagues were met with the welcome of the government, and you will soon witness the increase of wages and benefits for the employees of this field.

The Need for Specialized Cadres

The Attorney General’s Office, like many other administrations of the country, still suffers from a lack of trained cadres to the level of the sufficiency of this apparatus, and the need for the training and education of a larger number of specialized cadres is seen; and this work is a priority for us, and we want to have a sufficient number of professional and committed forces so that they are responsive to all the requirements of this field. The slowness that occurs in the completion of some important dossiers originates from the lack of sufficient specialized cadres for dealing with them, and this problem must be solved. Our commitment is that every type of facility that the Honorable Attorney General has for the strengthening of his cadres will be at the top of the government's work.

Restoring the Wall of Trust

Dear prosecutors! The hopeful eyes of a nation for justice are now fixed upon your committed and—in the words of the Honorable Attorney General—"iron" hands; and I am sure that your expertise, commitment, honesty, and integrity, which are the necessary characteristics of girding one's loins for such a grave mission, can open great knots from the work of our people and reconstruct the damaged trust in our legal and judicial apparatuses from anew.

I do not want reforms to be a passing wave and for affairs to return to the previous routine again. I expect that the current improving process becomes more mature and more widespread with the passage of every day, so that the apparatus of the Attorney General’s Office of the country, with all its provincial branches, witnesses a new life and is ready for responding to the demands and needs of our people.

A Call Against Vigilantism

We can, by renewing our covenant with God the Great, and by renewing our commitment to our suffering people who are thirsty for justice and the rule of law, and with sincere and tireless day-and-night effort, bring hope and trust as a gift to our nation.

In the end, once again, I thank from the heart the daily sacrifices of our security and defense forces. I wish for the highest paradise for the martyrs and urgent healing for the wounded. Likewise, the great tragedy of Ghor—every part of it is against that which you believe in. You are sitting here today and you know that it was against both Sharia and our customs and traditions, both in Ghor and in Pachir Awgam. Because of those events, I offer condolences to all the people of Afghanistan and I want to give this assurance that justice will be implemented in a legal way and these individuals and these killers will reach their punishment.

At this stage, I request from the entire nation that they do not go toward desert justice (vigilantism); go toward legal justice! Because the only way that the entire system can be gathered around and stability can come is that we reach that just system within the framework of the law, on the basis of the guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him), and with the advice of the Ulema, whose foundation was laid by our Great Leader, Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), and of which the Rightly Guided Caliphs were the model.

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