Abdullah opposes Ghani’s ‘reform’ of MoFA

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in a new decree issued on Sunday, Feb. 2, called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stop any type of “hurried” moves under the pretext of “reforms,” both in the country’s diplomatic offices abroad as well as in Kabul.

Abdullah’s decree was in response to the appointment of a new acting foreign minister, and the removal of SalahuddinRabbani, the former acting minister of foreign affairs. Abdullah also opposed new appointments in Afghanistan’s diplomatic offices.

In his decree, Abdullah called the situation “sensitive,” because, according to him, the country is on the verge of the announcement of election results – which have been delayed multiple times. Part of the National Unity Agreement that was brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry in 2014 between President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, granted the authority to Chief Executive Abdullah to make appointments in the Foreign Ministry. But Ghani has recently been making changes with the ministry, claiming it his presidential right to make reforms.

Abdullah, who addressed the Council of Ministers’ meeting on Monday, reiterated his previous comments and called such attempts of the Presidential Palace “one-sided decisions,” which, according to him, are not implementable unless the current National Unity Government’s tenure is ended.

“I will not talk more about the National Unity Government, but I am announcing that the National Unity Government will remain in place until the announcement of the final results of the elections,” Abdullah said.

Abdullah’s spokesman Mujib Rahman Rahimi said the rift between the Presidential Palace and Abdullah’s Sapidar Palace have increased, and that the situation is not acceptable.

“Unfortunately, the chief executive and his deputies have not been invited to recent cabinet meetings at the Presidential Palace and this is in contravention of the National Unity Government’s agreement,” Rahimi said.

But the Presidential Palace said that based on the law, reform in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a must and that it is the president’s authority.

“Based on the Constitution, authorities are specified in the Afghan government,” Ghani’s spokesman SediqSediqqi said. “The president in the lead of the government and has the authority to (decide) on whether to appoint or remove what individual and where.”

Lawyers were concerned about the rift between the two power-sharing sides of the government.

“This is an insult to the national sovereignty by the National Unity Government leaders, and meanwhile, it is a violation of political commitments between them,” said Subhanullah Misbah, deputy head of Afghanistan Lawyers Union.(TOLOnews)