Afghan opposition factions join hands against Ghani

KABUL: An Afghan faction which is a key partner of President Ashraf Ghani’s government has threatened his plan to fire a leading member of the party who has been a long-serving governor for northern Balkh province.
The development adds further to the already deepening political tension in the US-backed government while Taliban insurgents and Daesh affiliates make gains on the battlefield and with growing calls for convocation of a grand traditional assembly which may decide on the formation of an interim government and on the fate of US forces in Afghanistan.
The leadership of Jamiat-e-Islami party held talks with the powerful governor of Balkh, Atta Mohammad Noor, on the government’s decision and unanimously said that “it will confront any move that removes Atta from office,” party members told Arab News on Sunday.
“Jamiat unanimously has put forward two options to ARG (presidential palace): Jamiat is ready for understanding to settle this problem, but if it does not go for this option and issues order, decree (for dismissing Atta), then we will not accept that,” Abdul Hafeez Mansoor, a senior member of Jamiat, said.
“And Jamit is ready for confrontation. We do not have a government based on elections criteria. This government is based on an understanding of two sides, and no one can get rid of the other side.”
Another party member said any unilateral move on Ghani’s part will lead to Jamiat totally boycotting the government that came to power in late 2014 under a US-brokered deal after controversial election results.
Under the US-brokered deal, the Jamiat faction which has dominated the government since Taliban’s ouster in 2001 became a key partner in Ghani’s government.
Ghani has gradually reduced the role of Jamiat figures in recent months and in summer blocked the arrival of his first vice president General Abdul Rashid Dostum, another factional leader, to Balkh to announce the formation of an opposition alliance with Atta and another senior member of Ghani’s government.
Dostum lives in exile in Turkey for allegedly ordering the detention and sexual abuse of a political rival.
Weeks ago, Atta accused Ghani’s government of barring his plane from traveling to Kandahar, where a group of opposition parties and parliamentarians had gathered to discuss shortcomings in the government and spoke about their concern over alleged government meddling with next year’s parliamentarian and the 2019 presidential polls, when Ghani is highly expected to run for office again.
Dostum, Atta and many of those who had gathered in Kandahar accuse Ghani of power monopoly and nepotism. Ghani, who is under US and Western donors’ pressure for bringing reforms in his government, denies the allegations.
Mansoor said Jamiat had informed Ghani through a senior party’s leader who serves as CE in his administration, Dr. Abdullah, about the outcome of a unilateral move on the president’s part for planning to fire Atta.
Shah Hussein Murtazawi, a spokesman for Ghani, neither confirmed nor denied the president’s plan for dismissing Atta.
“Replacement and change of governors is an ordinary matter and we expect they will not turn this into a political or dignity issue. Maybe he will or will not be fired or decide to resign,” Murtazawi told Arab News.
Najib Mahmoud, a professor of political science at Kabul University, said the latest tension was “serious” for the Afghan government and “shrewd” action was needed to control the situation.
“The government has been under pressure from politicians and leaders who are members of the very administration in recent years and no doubt local and foreign opponents have benefited from this (in the past) and will do so this time too if both sides (Atta and Ghani) reach the end of the line,” he told Arab News.
“In normal countries if coalition governments fall apart, they call snap elections, but in Afghanistan if this happens the situation can be very different. There will be tension and problems.”