By: Kayhan Int’l
To the devilish delight of its American destroyers, Afghanistan seems all set to slip into a multidimensional crisis as two rival presidents have taken power in the capital Kabul in palaces a few paces apart from each other, by holding swearing-in ceremonies of their own to the applause of an impressive array of tribal chiefs on each side and naming their respective cabinet ministers to govern a fragmented country, where those who really call the shots are either the foreign military forces or the militants with which they have signed a supposed peace deal.
On one side is the incumbent, President Ashraf Ghani, until recently a US citizen, whose Christian wife and Christian sons (Alexander and Maximilian), continue to be American citizens.
The Election Commission Officials, before they went into hiding or may have fled the country, declared him the winner with a just 50 percent vote in his favour of the mere 5 percent of eligible voters who took part in the elections – the lowest turnout anywhere in the world.
It was thus natural that Ghani’s swearing-in-ceremony at the Presidential Palace was attended by the US, British, Canadian and European ambassadors.
On the other side is the mild-mannered physician, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who says that similar to the 2014 general elections, he was robbed of victory because of heavy rigging again in favour of his rival, Ghani, and that means he is the real winner.
His swearing-in ceremony at the Sapedar Palace, where he resides as the Chief Executive – a prime minister-like post arranged for him in 2014 by American mediators – was attended by powerful figures such as Gulbudin Hekmatyar, Abdur-Rashid Dostum, and others.
It is worth noting that a number of influential Afghan politicians such as former President Hamid Karzai, Abdur-Rasoul Sayyaf, Younus Qanuni and Speaker of the House of Representative Mir Rahman Rahmani, did not attend any of the two swearing-in ceremonies.
This gives a cruel political twist to crisis-plagued Afghanistan, and makes it look like a comedy of errors in Kabul, at a time the US occupiers have worked out a unilateral peace deal in Doha, with the Taliban militia, which they had been trying in vain to defeat since the past 19 years.
It should be noted that in the Qatari capital neither Ghani was represented nor Abdullah Abdullah – factors which pose a challenge to intra-Afghan talks for peace in the war-torn country.
The rift between Ghani and Abdullah led to the summoning of Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN chief in Afghanistan, by the Presidential Palace after he met Abdullah Abdullah last week.
Acting Foreign Minister Haroon Chakhansuri summoned UNAMA head, Japan’s Yamamoto, and told him that Ghani is the ‘recognized’ president.
Dr. Abdullah who was close to the legendry Afghan revolutionary leader, Ahmad Shah Masoud and had served as foreign minister for his country, seems to be adamant that it is now his turn to be the president.
Therefore, in view of these facts, it is advisable for the two rivals to let reason prevail. Both Ghani and Abdullah should get together to resolve the differences rather than thinking that the US is the real arbitrator, and whatever Washington says is correct.
An amicable solution, irrespective of Ghani sticking to his controversial win or being gracious to hand over power to his rival, is the need of the hour. Otherwise this comedy will most surely turn into a tragedy for Afghanistan, since the US-supported Daesh terrorists are waiting to exploit the situation to their own advantage, while the Taleban recognize neither of the two presidents in Kabul.
On one side is the incumbent, President Ashraf Ghani, until recently a US citizen, whose Christian wife and Christian sons (Alexander and Maximilian), continue to be American citizens.
The Election Commission Officials, before they went into hiding or may have fled the country, declared him the winner with a just 50 percent vote in his favour of the mere 5 percent of eligible voters who took part in the elections – the lowest turnout anywhere in the world.
It was thus natural that Ghani’s swearing-in-ceremony at the Presidential Palace was attended by the US, British, Canadian and European ambassadors.
On the other side is the mild-mannered physician, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who says that similar to the 2014 general elections, he was robbed of victory because of heavy rigging again in favour of his rival, Ghani, and that means he is the real winner.
His swearing-in ceremony at the Sapedar Palace, where he resides as the Chief Executive – a prime minister-like post arranged for him in 2014 by American mediators – was attended by powerful figures such as Gulbudin Hekmatyar, Abdur-Rashid Dostum, and others.
It is worth noting that a number of influential Afghan politicians such as former President Hamid Karzai, Abdur-Rasoul Sayyaf, Younus Qanuni and Speaker of the House of Representative Mir Rahman Rahmani, did not attend any of the two swearing-in ceremonies.
This gives a cruel political twist to crisis-plagued Afghanistan, and makes it look like a comedy of errors in Kabul, at a time the US occupiers have worked out a unilateral peace deal in Doha, with the Taliban militia, which they had been trying in vain to defeat since the past 19 years.
It should be noted that in the Qatari capital neither Ghani was represented nor Abdullah Abdullah – factors which pose a challenge to intra-Afghan talks for peace in the war-torn country.
The rift between Ghani and Abdullah led to the summoning of Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN chief in Afghanistan, by the Presidential Palace after he met Abdullah Abdullah last week.
Acting Foreign Minister Haroon Chakhansuri summoned UNAMA head, Japan’s Yamamoto, and told him that Ghani is the ‘recognized’ president.
Dr. Abdullah who was close to the legendry Afghan revolutionary leader, Ahmad Shah Masoud and had served as foreign minister for his country, seems to be adamant that it is now his turn to be the president.
Therefore, in view of these facts, it is advisable for the two rivals to let reason prevail. Both Ghani and Abdullah should get together to resolve the differences rather than thinking that the US is the real arbitrator, and whatever Washington says is correct.
An amicable solution, irrespective of Ghani sticking to his controversial win or being gracious to hand over power to his rival, is the need of the hour. Otherwise this comedy will most surely turn into a tragedy for Afghanistan, since the US-supported Daesh terrorists are waiting to exploit the situation to their own advantage, while the Taleban recognize neither of the two presidents in Kabul.
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