KABUL: Four rockets landed near the presidential palace in Kabul on Monday during Ashraf Ghani’s second swearing in ceremony as Afghanistan’s president.
The inauguration, scheduled to be held at the end of last month, was delayed after a request by the US which was working on peace deal with the Afghan Taliban, finally signed on Feb. 29, following nearly a year and half of talks in Qatar.
While Ghani’s oath-taking was ongoing, his rival Abdullah Abdullah was holding a separate ceremony in an adjacent compound, declaring himself the country’s new ruler.
For days, Washington’s envoy for the Afghan peace process, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been busy in Kabul trying to persuade Ghani and Abdullah to avert a political crisis following September’s disputed presidential election.
The two leaders have been sharing power — Ghani as president and Abdullah as chief executive — following a deal brokered by Washington, following previously disputed elections in 2014.
While Monday’s blast disrupted Ghani’s ceremony, no casualties were reported, police said.
As attendants began to flee the presidential palace, Ghani urged them to not fear. “We have seen big attacks. One or two explosions should not scare us,” he said.
In his inauguration speech, which was witnessed by many Kabul-based diplomats, including Khalilzad and the top commander of US forces in the country, Ghani vowed to form a government within two weeks, including members of his rival’s camp.
He said he would also pursue peace talks with the Taliban for an intra-Afghan dialogue and would on Tuesday announce the government’s plans for releasing Taliban prisoners.
FASTFACT
While Ashraf Ghani’s oath-taking was ongoing, his rival Abdullah Abdullah was holding a separate ceremony in an adjacent compound.
Meanwhile, during his own oath-taking ceremony, Abdullah said he would not accept a government that was an “outcome of fraud.”
The country’s electoral commission last month announced that Ghani had won over 50 percent of the presidential vote, but Abdullah rejected the result and declared himself the winner.
Analyst Zabihullah Pakteen told Arab News that Afghanistan was entering a new era of crisis.
“We might be in uncharted territory. However, Ghani’s side thinks they have the upper hand now, since legitimacy is derived from Western powers and Ghani managed you bring them on board,” he said.
“Future bargaining would be easier from their perspective. Abdullah has to maintain the pressure on Ghani, keep his allies and supporters happy and show he is still in the game.”
According to Afghanistan’s former head of the National Directorate of Security, Rahmatullah Nabil, Monday’s developments showed the failure of US efforts in Afghanistan.
“Today is the day of the major failure for the US and its allies in Afghanistan,” he declared via Twitter.