Afghanistan: Abdullah rejects Ashraf Ghani's offer of power-sharing deal

Before Afghanistan's ex-chief executive Abdullah Abdullah held a parallel inauguration declaring himself the President, he was reportedly offered a power-sharing deal. According to a local Afghan media outlet, Ashraf Ghani had offered Abdullah 40 per cent of his cabinet and a role overseeing peace negotiations with the Taliban. However, Abdullah demanded the top job as he already enjoys strong support from Jamiat, one of the country's largest parties with a strong base in the north. 

On March 9, Ghani and Abdullah appointed themselves as the president. While Ghani took oath in the presence of American and UN diplomats, Abdullah, on the other hand, held his own swearing-in ceremony. While speaking to an international media outlet, US and Western diplomats also said that an arrangement will have to brokered between the two before both start appointing their ministers. 

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The month-long political crisis in Afghanistan seems to be worsening with two power centres in the country. Abdullah’s separate claim to power has also created a fear of the Taliban gaining ground in a political vacuum, especially when the US forces have signed a deal to withdraw gradually. Last month, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) declared incumbent Ghani as the winner of the presidential elections - with Ghani securing 50.64 per cent of the total votes polled, estimated as more than 1.8 million, and Abdullah got 39.52 per cent of the votes. 

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'Fake and staged'

The Taliban has reportedly denounced the results calling the election 'fake and staged'. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson of the Taliban, said in a statement that it rejects the 'meaningless appointment' and considers it a failed effort at 'throwing dust' in the eyes of the nation. This development comes amid the break down of the peace accord signed by Taliban with the United States that laid out the conditions-based path to the full withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan over the course of 14 months. 

The political climate of Afghanistan currently looks grim as Defence Minister has threatened the Taliban of starting attack if they don’t stop violence within a week. Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid said in a statement that Afghan forces will remain in defence mode until the end of this week because of the peace agreement. But Khalid warned that Afghan troops will 'target the enemy everywhere' if the Taliban do not stop attacks by the end of the week. 

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