Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called for lawmakers to help fight corruption, appealing for reforms before a conference next month aimed at getting international aid for the country's development.

Mr. Karzai said in his address to a special session of parliament that corruption in Afghanistan “has reached a peak.”

He said he hopes donors at the Tokyo conference pledge an amount for Afghanistan's economy similar to the $4 billion pledged to fund the country's security forces after the withdrawal of international forces in 2014.

Mr. Karzai also appealed to the United States to send former Afghan central bank chief Abdul Qadir Fitrat back to Afghanistan to face questions about a corruption scandal at Kabul Bank. Fitrat fled to the United States in June of last year, saying his life was in danger.