Afghan political crisis intensifies

US IOP photo

By

Saliha Khalid

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani‘s offer to remove one of the nation’s most effective governors keeps running into problems that have developed political vulnerability just as Washington ventures into its crusade against the Taliban uprising.

Atta Mohammad Noor, legislative leader of the vital northern area of Balkh, has declined to leave office, seven days after Ghani’s office said the president had acknowledged his renunciation and named a replacement.

The standoff has underlined how dubious centeral government control stays outside the capital and how unstable the political circumstances have now become prior to a presidential election planned for next year.

Being one of the various capable territorial pioneers who command loyalty and respect while acting semi-independently of the government, Atta Noor has long looked for a role on the national stage and is a potential candidate in the 2019 race.

Partners have cautioned that unless Ghani reverses his decision, he hazards common agitation that will threaten security and enable Taliban and Islamic State activists to gain territory in Balkh, a noteworthy monetary center point which sits on a lucrative trade route to Central Asia.

“In the event that President Ghani does not demonstrate adaptability, he will be in charge of the results,” said Farhad Azimi, an MP from Balkh territory.

In any case, he said no side had any enthusiasm for a showdown that would cause savagery or undermine security.

Divisions

The standoff, which has frightened Afghanistan’s Western accomplices, has re-opened divisions that were partially concealed by the US-handled assention making Ghani’s solidarity government following a debated presidential race in 2014.

After far reaching cases of extortion by the two sides in the race, Ghani was at long last introduced as president with his previous adversary Abdullah Abdullah from the Jamiat-e-Islami party, who took the newly create post of CEO.

Atta Noor, who has fabricated a solid territorial power base as Balkh senator, got the sponsorship of party, upheld chiefly by ethnic Tajiks from northern Afghanistan, many of whom still hate Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun.

“Atta Mohammad Noor is the strongest figure in Jamiat,” said Bresha Rabeh, another MP from Balkh. “He will not back down.”

Be that as it may, he conflicted intensely with his rival Abdullah, whom he called a “serpent” whose teeth he would break. Following a period of relative silence, Abdullah later confirmed that he had supported the choice to potentially remove Atta Noor.

The debate comes as US powers increased air strikes against the Taliban and other groups as a major aspect of a reinforced methodology for driving the agitators to accept a peace settlement following sixteen years of war.

US authorities say the operation has had critical success against the Taliban however the effect dangers are being weakened by political turmoil that has undermined open trust in the Western-sponsored government.

As the turmoil has extended, strains amongst Tajiks and Pashtuns, Afghanistan’s two biggest ethnic gatherings, have escalated, undermining endeavors to manufacture national solidarity.

Parliamentary races, authoritatively planned for one year from now, are in uncertainty and opposition factions have increased pressure on the government, with former president Hamid Karzai requiring a ‘loya jirga’, or board of elders and political leaders.

Saliha Khalid

Saliha Khalid is pursuing her Masters degree in Defense and Diplomatic Studies from Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi