by Samim Faramarz
Claims have been lodged recently that soldiers who fight for years on the battlefields are not promoted, but instead those who spend a comfortable life in Kabul are promoted to the rank of general because of their relations with high ranking officials.
In the past, an EU special representative to Afghanistan said that the rank of general is granted to someone in Afghanistan on the basis of money, but not on merit.
Back in September, a number of MPs, military analysts and even the ambassador of the European Union to Afghanistan criticized the Ministry of Defense (MoD) for allegedly issuing someone the rank of general in exchange for money.
"How do you become a general or colonel in the Afghan security forces, well that is not based on fighting skill, that is based on the size of your wallet and that doesn't change, you are going to have that problem, I also raised that conversation, something that I like to remind the people, that is how many generals does Afghanistan have," he said.
Footage that recently appeared on social media shows that Khalil Rahman, the son of Abdul Rahman Rahman deputy of ministry of interior, has been promoted to the rank of colonel.
In addition to this, Noorullah Anwari, son of Sayed Hussain Anwari, former security advisor to the president, also got the rank of general. It is said that there are a number of individuals who have received high military ranks in this way.
President Ashraf Ghani said however that he would personally interview any candidate before he is promoted to the rank of a general. But recently general ranks were granted to a number of relatives of government officials, a move that sparked strong reactions.
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