Zalmai Rassoul Discusses 'Roadmap' for First 100 Days

Rassoul advocated an openness in foreign policy, and said Afghanistan could not afford to be isolated from the international community, especially in the South Asian region, anymore.

Zalmai Rassoul photo: afghanistanembassy.org.uk

(KABUL) - In an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, Presidential candidate Zalmai Rassoul discussed the key features of what would be his "roadmap" for the first 100 days in office, if elected President in April.

Rassoul, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, told TOLOnews that security, the economy, the peace process and corruption would be his top priorities.

"In the first hundred days of my government, I would draw up a basic roadmap and would present it to Parliament for endorsement," Rassoul said.

He focused on the issue of corruption quite a bit, and said that he would aim to have all the cases currently hung up in court or never moved beyond investigation processed as quickly as possible.

"We would review corruption cases that are sitting in the legal and judicial organs and would publicize the outcomes...I would establish a special court if needed," Rassoul said.

Widespread corruption is considered one of the major stunts to Afghanistan's development. High-profile cases surrounding misappropriate and embezzlment of aid funds have abounded in recent years. On Tuesday, 61 million AFG was reported stolen from the Ministry of Finance and a number of employees are under investigation.

The Presidential hopeful also spoke about the Taliban peace process.

"We will wait until the elections to see what is going to happen, after that we will review the peace process to find out that what has been done and what more is needed," he said. "Later on, we will move the peace process forward and take into account the contribution of Pakistan."

Rassoul advocated an openness in foreign policy, and said Afghanistan could not afford to be isolated from the international community, especially in the South Asian region, anymore.

Rassoul is one of the 10 Presidential candidates who made the Independent Election Commission's (IEC) preliminary list two weeks ago.

TOLOnews will be conducting interviews with each one of the Presidential candidates in the coming weeks.

Special thanks to Fawad Ahmad Muslim
Afghanistan News Center
www.afghanistannewscenter.com