KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Taliban said in a report Monday on Afghan developments they were concerned by the high level of corruption in the Afghan central government.
The Taliban published their monthly report on developments in Afghanistan. They said the "mercenary" administration in Kabul was riddled with corruption.
Transparency International gave Afghanistan one of the worst scores possible in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Afghanistan received a score of 8 out of a possible 100 points, putting it in the same tier as North Korea and Somalia.
"The level of this administrative corruption has escalated to the extent that even their foreign friends and supporters are annoyed with it," the Taliban said.
The conservative Muslim group said frustration with the high level of corruption in Afghanistan resulted in its emergence in the first place.
International forces, led by the United States, removed the Taliban from power in Kabul in 2001 following the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. The U.S. and Afghan governments are at odds over a security pact that would define their bilateral military relationship beyond 2014, when international combat forces leave.
NATO has expressed frustration with the delay as it charts its future course in Afghanistan. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he expected the agreement would be signed before the end of next year.
