Taliban talks in sight as Afghan political rivals end feud

AFGHANISTAN - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal to end the months-long political crisis, a step that is expected to boost efforts to move the peace process forward.

Abdullah, who had disputed the election result and declared himself president in February, appointed as the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) that will hold talks with the Taliban armed group.

The United States had been pushing Afghanistan’s divided leadership to bury their differences and begin the so-called intra-Afghan talks after it signed an agreement with the Taliban on February 29 aimed at ending the 19year war.

Abdullah’s group will get 50 cabinet appointments and other provincial governors’ posts as part of the deal.

The US had cut $1bn in aid to Afghanistan after Ghani and Abdullah refused to compromise, with the two leaders holding parallel inaugurations in the capital Kabul. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the deal. “Secretary Pompeo noted that he regretted the time lost during the political impasse,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

In a repeat of the 2014 election that was marred by irregularities, Abdullah, who served as Afghanistan’s chief executive for the past five years, had disputed the result of the September 2019 vote. On Sunday, Ghani said it was an “historic day” for Afghanistan and the agreement was reached without any international mediation, referring to the 2014 power-sharing deal that was mediated by the US. Abdullah said the deal commits to forming a “more inclusive, accountable and competent administration”. As the head of the HCNR, Abdullah has a big challenge ahead as the deal comes amid rising violence after which President Ghani announced the launch of a military offensive against the Taliban and other armed groups. A broad political consensus is crucial when Kabul sits face-to-face with the Taliban as part of the intra-Afghan peace talks, Sami Yousufzai, an Afghan journalist who has followed the Taliban, told Al Jazeera.

“In this crucial time when the Taliban are still conducting attacks against government forces and civilians are being killed in attacks claimed by (ISIL), this agreement has strengthened the Afghan government’s position and weakened Taliban’s,” Yousufzai said.

“A tough message goes to the Taliban that despite such political divides, they would all sit unified in front of the Taliban.” (AlJazeera)