NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Nicholas Kay, on Monday called for calm and dialogue amid tensions between President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah over election results.
“Calm, dialogue and compromise by all political leaders needed,” Kay said on Twitter, urging all parties to prioritize the peace process and national unity.
“NATO does not support actions by any party that increase tensions or the risk of violence,” he said.
Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission last week declared the incumbent president as winner of the 2019 election, however, his main challenger Abdullah rejected the results.
Abdullah vowed to form his own government and has been introducing governors for provinces.
Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that it was extremely concerned by forceful attempts to replace government officials.
“Resorting to force or any other unlawful means at the very time that efforts are ongoing to realize a reduction in violence – with the expectation that it can lead to the start of an intra-Afghan negotiations on peace – jeopardizes the population’s hope for peace,” UNAMA had said calling on all parties to exercise restraint and address their grievances through dialogue.
