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Security Forces Using New Biometric Program To Log Troops

Following reports last year on ghost soldiers among Afghan security and defense forces, security agencies said on Saturday they have launched a new biometric registration campaign to record details of all security force members in a central data bank. 

The Ministry of Defense said however there were no ghost soldiers in the Afghan army; however, the Ministry of Interior said it is assessing 95 percent of its employees as part of their efforts to root out the problem.

The new biometric registration program has already been completed in Kunduz - which is currently dealing with a spike in security issues, local officials said.

“We have not documented any ghost soldier in Kunduz based on our assessment,” said Mahmoud Danish, Kunduz governor’s spokesman.

The defense and interior ministries meanwhile called for the continuation of the process. 

“We had a little problem. A team from the ministry has just gone to Nuristan in order to include the remaining areas in the system. We don’t have a serious problem in other parts,” said Najib Danish, the interior ministry’s spokesman.

“All our soldiers have been included in the system. If anyone, even one person, goes out or comes in, they are registered in the system,” said Dawlat Waziri, the interior ministry’s spokesman.

There are concerns about ghost soldiers in some parts of the country.

“The first issue is that the delegation which is sent by the (security) agencies is under question and second, when the delegation arrives in an area, the local officials and commanders are aware about their arrival; therefore, they round up their supporters from districts and introduce them as their soldiers to the delegation,” said Nadir Khan Katawazi, an MP.

This comes after the U.S Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report in January that the U.S government is paying the salaries of “tens of thousands” of non-existent Afghan soldiers, police, teachers and civil servants.

Afghan security agencies have often rejected such reports and have said that they are working to fight corruption in the police and army.

Security Forces Using New Biometric Program To Log Troops

Officials said all security force members are being registered in a central data bank in a bid to fight the ghost soldier trend.

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Following reports last year on ghost soldiers among Afghan security and defense forces, security agencies said on Saturday they have launched a new biometric registration campaign to record details of all security force members in a central data bank. 

The Ministry of Defense said however there were no ghost soldiers in the Afghan army; however, the Ministry of Interior said it is assessing 95 percent of its employees as part of their efforts to root out the problem.

The new biometric registration program has already been completed in Kunduz - which is currently dealing with a spike in security issues, local officials said.

“We have not documented any ghost soldier in Kunduz based on our assessment,” said Mahmoud Danish, Kunduz governor’s spokesman.

The defense and interior ministries meanwhile called for the continuation of the process. 

“We had a little problem. A team from the ministry has just gone to Nuristan in order to include the remaining areas in the system. We don’t have a serious problem in other parts,” said Najib Danish, the interior ministry’s spokesman.

“All our soldiers have been included in the system. If anyone, even one person, goes out or comes in, they are registered in the system,” said Dawlat Waziri, the interior ministry’s spokesman.

There are concerns about ghost soldiers in some parts of the country.

“The first issue is that the delegation which is sent by the (security) agencies is under question and second, when the delegation arrives in an area, the local officials and commanders are aware about their arrival; therefore, they round up their supporters from districts and introduce them as their soldiers to the delegation,” said Nadir Khan Katawazi, an MP.

This comes after the U.S Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report in January that the U.S government is paying the salaries of “tens of thousands” of non-existent Afghan soldiers, police, teachers and civil servants.

Afghan security agencies have often rejected such reports and have said that they are working to fight corruption in the police and army.

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