Bitter Afghan rivals seal power-sharing deal
Presidential contenders join forces to end stand-off that could signal political solution to Taliban revolt
AFGHANISTAN’S feuding rivals for the presidency have signed a power-sharing deal that the country’s Western backers hope will end months of damaging political deadlock.
Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah joined forces yesterday following a tortuous and contested election which both men claim they won. Dr Abdullah had rejected the official result that put him as runner-up, saying he was cheated of victory.
After months of haggling in which he set up a parallel government, he will now oversee negotiations with the Taliban and be allowed to appoint half the posts in the cabinet. Mr Ghani, a former World Bank economist, will remain president.
The stand-off between the rivals had paralysed central government for months, just as the US had hoped that Kabul and the Taliban would begin talks to find a political solution to the insurgency.
International backers, whose funding the Afghan government relies on heavily, have spent months trying to pressure the rivals to share power.
Exasperated at the refusal to break the impasse, Washington has cut $1billion (£826 million) in aid.
Dr Abdullah said the concessions to him were not “a handout” but reflected “the last election and every clean vote”. The agreement was a commitment to “a more inclusive, accountable and competent administration,” he said.
The impasse had added to a sense of crisis. The US’S proposed deal with the Taliban – which would result in American troops withdrawing in exchange for an end to Taliban atrocities – appears to have stumbled over a renewed surge in militant violence. The Covid-19 pandemic also threatens to hit the country hard.
“We now need to come together as a nation, strive to seek solutions that are practical,” Dr Abdullah said. The deal gives him no executive power, but puts him in charge of a new peace body to negotiate with the Taliban.
“It potentially makes him the peace guy. That’s important. It is internationally high-profile,” one senior diplomat told The Daily Telegraph.
“He will need to deliver quickly or he will find himself dealing with a very impatient international community.
“If, however, he does deliver, it will make him very much more influential than he was in the [last government]. So potentially, it is all up to him. Does it help get talks under way? Not unless the prisoner release is completed, but if that is done, then yes.”
Talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government had been due to start only days after America signed a landmark withdrawal deal with the militants in Doha in February.
The dispute between the candidates and a row over the release of militant prisoners mean they have yet to start however, while Taliban attacks have mounted significantly.
Andrew Watkins, the Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Afghanistan, said: “The US and international community will be relieved to see this deal signed, but that relief comes after a growing sense of frustration and impatience.
“The US in particular has grown open about how much it viewed the impasse in Kabul as a distraction from its priorities.”