The meetings of prominent political leaders, who had a five-day deadline to end the rift between President Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, have ended with no results, said Fraidoon Khwazoon, a spokesman for Abdullah, on Friday.
He said Abdullah will soon announce his cabinet.
Former president Hamid Karzai, former mujahideen leader Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf and former vice president Mohammad Yunus Qanooni are the key figures who have held many meetings with Ghani and Abdullah over the last month. Earlier this week, they urged President Ghani to stop cabinet appointments for five days. This call was accepted by both sides.
But Abdullah’s spokesman said Ghani has not shown flexibility in his stance which has led the talks nowhere.
Ghani already proposed to Abdullah the post of the head of the High Council of Peace and Reconciliation, to lead peace efforts and decide on major issues regarding the process, but the proposal has yet to be accepted by Abdullah Abdullah, who has declared he will establish his own “inclusive” government.
“They are either unaware of the consequences of the crisis, or they are not making themselves aware,” Khwazoon said, referring to the consequences of political tension in the country.
“We know what will be the consequence of this problem. That’s why we have shown flexibility. Now, the responsibility for anything that happens is on those who are not showing flexibility,” Khwazoon added.
Despite the promise on the five-day deadline, Ghani on Thursday appointed Fazl Mahmoud Fazly as head of the Administrative Office of the President.
But the Presidential Palace said the way to negotiations is still opened.
“Meetings have been held with Afghan political leaders and we hope to find agreements based on the law and within the framework of the constitution,” said Latif Mahmoud, a presidential spokesman.
Some political figures who have attended meetings with Ghani and Abdullah in recent days said the two are “careless” about the people.
“Regrettably, these two (Ghani and Abdullah) are not understanding (the situation). They think that everything is stable and everything is normal. Therefore, worse consequences are awaiting Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Alam Ezedyar, the deputy speaker of Meshrano Jirga, the Upper House of the Afghan parliament.
Sayyaf’s aides said the country would face a major crisis if there is no flexibility shown by Ghani and Abdullah during the talks.
“It is necessary that they should put aside their differences and agree on a suitable solution so that we can fight terrorism and the coronavirus,” said Daud Kalakani, an aide to Sayyaf.
This follows a visit to Kabul by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month, where he met with Ghani and Abdullah, together and separately. After his trip, Pompeo announced a reduction in US aid to Afghanistan over the Afghan leaders’ failure to end their rift.
