Two claimants to Afghan presidency reach tentative deal

(May 2) The two claimants to the presidency of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah have finally come to a "tentative deal" according to Abdullah Abdullah. Details are set to be released soon.

The term "tentative deal" is in quotes because according to a tweet by Abdullah Abdullah the two are still working on details though they have agreed upon principles: " We have made progress in negotiations & reached tentative agreement on a range of principles. Work on details is underway to finalize the agreement."

Ghani had earlier suggested a compromise

Polls showed that Ghani had eked out a narrow victory but this was contested by Abdullah Abdullah. Under the Ghani agreement Abdullah Abdullah would have become vice-president and would have been in charge of peace talks with the Taliban. It is not clear whether the new tentative agreement would have similar terms.

The new agreement

While the precise details are not known it is thought to be focused on preparing for talks with the Taliban. Although there has been an agreement between the Taliban and the US since the end of February, the Afghan government was not involved. The Ghani government refused to carry out the terms of a prisoner swap that was part of that agreement. As a result the Taliban resumed attacks on the government. Negotiations have so failed to produce a solution so talks are necessary to resolve the issue and hopefully result in a ceasefire and peace.

The agreement should unify political power blocs and help Afghanistan to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pompeo's failure

Earlier in the year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had attempted to mediate a solution to the presidential crisis but without success. In response the US punished the two by removing $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan. The lack of a compromise US officials claimed was against US interests. Pompeo also said that the US would start a review of all its projects in Afghanistan to identify additional reductions.

However, Pompeo insisted that the US was not abandoning their partnership with Afghanistan or its commitment to support US security forces. The US is providing $15 million to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless the US is already withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as part of the deal with the Taliban.

Trump appears anxious to withdraw troops from Afghanistan as the withdrawal is already ahead of schedule.

Previously published in the Digital Journal