30 April 2019, Kabul, Afghanistan (AP)
Afghanistan’s president opened a grand council on Monday of more than 3,200 Afghans seeking to agree on a common approach to peace talks with the Taliban, but the gathering may further aggravate divisions within the U.S.-backed government.
President Ashraf Ghani hopes to showcase unity at the four-day meeting — known as Loya Jirga — that brings together politicians, tribal elders, many prominent figures and others.
But Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, his partner in a unity government brokered by the United States after a bitterly disputed election in 2014, heads a list of no-shows.
Former President Hamid Karzai, who also is not attending, told The Associated Press on Monday that holding the council at this time risks “delaying and causing an impediment to the peace process.” He also voiced concern that by sidelining his chief executive, Ghani could trigger suspicion that personal ambitions may have partly driven him to hold the Loya Jirga now.
“We are all here to talk about the framework of peace talks with the Taliban … reaching a sustainable peace is very important to us,” said Ghani in his welcome address to delegates.
Waving a copy of Afghanistan’s constitution, Ghani lauded it as the most Islamic of constitutions — an apparent message to the Taliban who have suggested they want to negotiate articles within the charter, without specifying.
Ghani gave the chairmanship of the council to Abdul Rasool Sayyaf, a former warlord with past links to Osama bin Laden and the militants who took control of Kabul after the collapse of the communist government in the early 1990s. He is known for adhering to a strict interpretation of Islam, and refusing to meet with women .
