Afghanistan’s Chief Executive has castigated his ally Ashraf Ghani as “unfit for the presidency,” in a public outburst highlighting bitter internal divisions that threaten their U.S.-brokered power-sharing agreement.
Abdullah Abdullah’s comments come ahead of a September deadline for the government to honour the fragile agreement signed after the fraud-tainted presidential election in 2014, which both leaders claimed to have won.
By then the government is expected to enact sweeping election reforms and amend the constitution to create the position of Prime Minister for Abdullah. Observers say deadline is unlikely to be met, effectively tipping Afghanistan into a political crisis.
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“Electoral reforms were one of the promises made when the National Unity Government was formed. Why weren’t these reforms brought?” Mr. Abdullah told a small gathering in Kabul on Thursday.
“Mr President, over a period of three months you do not have time to see your chief executive face-to-face for even an hour or two? What do you spend your time on?
“There are arguments in every government but if someone does not have patience for discussion, then he is unfit for the presidency.”
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The acrimony comes as Taliban insurgents are threatening to overrun Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic poppy-growing southern province of Helmand. Mr. Abdullah, a former anti-Soviet fighter, also accused Mr. Ghani of monopolising power and not consulting him over key government appointments.
The presidential palace offered a measured response on Friday, saying Mr. Abdullah’s remarks “were not in accordance with the spirit of governance”, while at the same time extending him an olive branch. — AFP