A mechanism for the release of Taliban prisoners has been reached and a presidential decree will be issued in this regard on Tuesday (today), the country’s president said on Monday.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s remarks came after he took oath as president for another five-year term.
Ghani was sworn in for a second term, but the ceremony was marred by a rocket attack and a rival held his own inauguration ceremony in an escalating political feud compounding challenges to ending the 18-year war.
Both Ghani and former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah say they are Afghanistan’s rightful leader following a disputed election last September. The standoff threatens political chaos days after the United States and the Taliban signed a deal on the withdrawal of US-led international forces.
Planned morning ceremonies were postponed and guests kept waiting while US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad tried to broker a last-minute deal between the longtime political foes – but there was no word of a breakthrough.
Ghani eventually took oath at the presidential palace in a ceremony attended by foreign diplomats, including Khalilzad and NATO forces commander Scott Miller.
Abdullah Abdullah held a ceremony at his own compound nearby attended by supporters.
Ghani’s ceremony was disrupted by the sound of rockets hitting the edge of the compound of the presidential palace in an attack later claimed by Islamic State.
Speaking on the occasion, Ghani said he will stick to his previous cabinet for two weeks before selecting a new set of members which will include people beyond his political camp to form ‘an inclusive government’. He plans to finalize a negotiating team for talks with the Taliban on Tuesday and to make a further announcement on demands by the militants for the release of 5,000 prisoners.
US and Western diplomats said an arrangement will have to be brokered quickly between the two before they start appointing rival ministers. “It’s a complete mess, the two men refuse to negotiate a deal,” said a senior American official in Kabul.
Ghani and Abdullah have been holding talks with Khalilzad as he tried to secure a deal to avert the parallel inaugurations, officials from both camps said.
The Election Commission last month announced that Ghani had retained power by winning the Sept 28 election. But Abdullah rejected that and proclaimed himself winner. “No one should have underestimated our commitment to genuine democracy,” Abdullah tweeted on Monday. “Invalidation of all fraudulent votes is the way out,” he added.
In Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated Afghan President Ghani for taking oath of his office and said Pakistan will do everything it can to bring peace and stability in the region. “I want to congratulate Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani & look forward to working with him. Pakistan will do everything it possibly can to bring peace and stability in our region,” the prime minister said in his Twitter message.
“Pakistan was represented at the inauguration ceremony of President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. We extend our felicitations,” the Foreign Office said in a press statement. “The people of Pakistan are linked to the brotherly people of Afghanistan through immutable bonds of history, geography, faith, kinship, culture, language, and customs and traditions. We wish our Afghan brethren a future of hope and opportunity,” the statement read. “At this crucial juncture in their national life, we hope the Afghan leaders will proceed with wisdom and foresight, eschew blame-games, resolve mutual differences, and unite in the supreme interest of their country,” it added.
“The signing of the US-Taliban peace agreement in Doha on February 29 has created a historic opportunity for the people of Afghanistan and a pathway to intra-Afghan negotiations,” the statement went on to say. “We believe it is imperative to seize this historic moment and work together constructively for securing durable peace and stability in Afghanistan,” it said. “Pakistan, as a shared responsibility, will continue to facilitate the Afghan peace and reconciliation process for bringing an end to the 19-year-old conflict through a comprehensive and inclusive, negotiated political solution that is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned,” it further said.
“Pakistan reaffirms its support for a peaceful, stable, united, sovereign, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan, at peace with itself and with its neighbours,” it added.
