KABUL (SW): Analysts believe a reported meeting between first Vice President Abdul Rasheed Dostum and NDS Chief Mohammad Masoumd Stanikzai has broader political agenda behind it.
Last month, Dostum joined hands with Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of Balkh province and chief executive of the Jamiat-e-Islami party, and Mohammad Mohaqeq, deputy to Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah of the National Unity Government (NUG) and leader of the Wahdat-e-Islami party, to form a new political alliance.
Analysts believe Stanikzai has visited Turkey to meet Dostum in a bid to lure him away from this alliance. According to the office of the VP, the NDS Chief has asked Dostum to return to Afghanistan. Analysts argue the Arg (Presidential Palace) fear such new alliances would further the gap between the government and the people.
Sami Durraey, an analyst, told Salam Watandar the Arg feels threatened, and it wants to dismantle this new political opposition. He claimed, however, if the Dostum-Noor-Mohaqeq alliance holds its ground, it would compel the NUG to bring reforms. Barna Salehi, another analyst, asserted that such alliances would only promote the regional and global proxy wars in Afghanistan, and it is aimed at encircling President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. He added that the U.S. administration has put pressure on Ghani to bring Dostum back into its camp.
ENDS
