NANGARHAR - The newly appointed governor of eastern Nangarhar province, Mawlawi Attaullah Ludin, has formally assumed charge, pledging to eradicate administrative corruption.

Mr. Ludin was introduced as the new governor through a presidential decree read out at a ceremony in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

Senate chairman Fazl Hadi Muslimyar, Ulama’s Council chief Mawlawi Qiamuddin Kashaf, members of lower and upper houses of the parliament, local officials and tribal elders attended the ceremony.

Mr. Muslimyar, happy with the appointment of Lodin as the new provincial governor, said Mr. Ludin should resolve all major problems facing residents of the province.

“My team and I are fully supportive of Ludin and hope the masses will also cooperate with him,” said Mr. Muslimyar, who called on religious scholars to raise their voice for peace in their respective areas.

Mr. Kashaf praised the new governor as the first-ever cleric to be appointed as governor over the past 12 years.

Mr. Ludin, who replaces Gul Agha Shirzai, said his first priority would be dealing with insecurity in Nangarhar, saying he would do his level best to bring about peace and tranquility in the province, which borders Pakistan.

A former deputy head of the High Peace Council (HPC), Mr. Ludin asked insurgent groups to convey him their genuine demands and conditions for achieving peace in Nangarhar and across the nation.

He identified ending administrative graft as his second top priority, saying corruption in Nangarhar had reached its climax. Mr. Ludin said his efforts at countering corruption would continue until the menace was completely wiped out.

“I ask officials of all departments to reform themselves and if documents proving their complicity in corruption are brought to me, then don’t come with references to me,” he warned.

The governor said he would work on basic reconstruction projects to put Nangarhar on the path to development, saying he would start taking practical steps after consulting various sections of the society in the near future.

Source: Pajhwok Afghan News