The National Unity Government (NUG) organized the planned consultative Loya Jirga or grand assembly on peace last month despite a boycott by an overwhelming majority of political groups and all presidential contenders. The government declared a weeklong holiday in Kabul, and embraced an unnecessarily tight security posture, creating road closures, which made it difficult for people to move from one area to another. In addition to financial losses inflicted on people during the holidays and business closures due to movement restrictions, the government says to have spent about five million dollars on the organization of the grand meeting.
In spite of the problems created and money spent, the Loya Jirga has so far made no practical contribution to the peace process. The government in general and circles close to the president in particular have been trying since the first day of the Loya Jirga to bill the convention to the people as a key achievement in the area of peace as their great aspiration, but the reality on the ground is squarely otherwise. Almost a month after the gathering, the government is yet to implement even a single of its major decision. Neither has an all-inclusive, acceptable-to-all negotiating team been formed to hold intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban nor is the fate of the Taliban prisoners which President Ghani promised to release as a gesture of good will clear.
One of the main problems of NUG leaders since their inauguration day is their unending pledges, but no actions. They have failed to honor not only their campaign promises but also the ones they have made after taking up office. The betrayal of promises has become a matter of routine for them. Without assessing their feasibility and government’s capacity, the president often makes promises that appear impractical to be delivered through by a government that could not forge internal consensus on key national issues over the course of five years.
Government leadership must account to the nation for their promises as Afghan people no longer can tolerate the entrenched cultural of betrayal of promises by politicians. The president needs inform the nation of what impact has the Loya Jirga had on the peace process. According to unconfirmed reports, Russia is ready to host a second conference between Afghan politicians and the Taliban, but President Ghani has not yet been able to form a comprehensive, representative delegation for the intra-Afghan dialogue, as recommended by participants of the Loya Jirga.
