Multiple blows
'Stalemate over cabinet will deepen uncertainty.'
The audacious attack by the Taliban in the heart of Kabul indicates how fragile the hold of the Afghan government is. Suicide bombers and heavily armed Taliban fighters were able to hold off security forces for several hours near the presidential palace. The attack was timed to coincide with the swearing in of Karzai’s cabinet ministers and appears to have been aimed at damaging the government’s image in the eyes of the international community days before a crucial donor summit in London. President Hamid Karzai’s authority has suffered a series of stinging blows in recent months, the most recent being the rejection of several of his cabinet nominees by parliament. A fortnight ago, parliament rejected 17 of 24 nominees. On Saturday, 10 of the 17 new nominees were vetoed again. His credibility was severely undermined, when allegations of widespread fraud and vote-rigging clouded his re-election. The deadlock over cabinet formation has left him still weaker. It will be a much diminished Karzai, who will appear at the London conference next week. More importantly, the stalemate over the cabinet nominees will deepen political uncertainty in Afghanistan. Several portfolios are vacant and with parliament going into recess, it will be some time before the Afghan government will be up and running.
There is a ray of hope amidst this rather bleak scenario. It is heartening that Afghan parliamentarians are standing up, speaking out and acting against those in high places who have links with the warlords. Many of the cabinet nominees rejected by parliament are warlords like Ismail Khan, a warlord who once ruled Herat, and three nominees of General Abdurrashid Dostum, an Uzbek warlord. Karzai is believed to have nominated them as part of deals struck in the run-up to elections to win the support of warlords. Parliament has done well to prevent him from putting them in ministerial posts.
Several western officials have expressed exasperation over the stalemate over cabinet formation in Afghanistan. Their impatience is understandable in the context of the upcoming donor conference as several governments were keen to know who will be at the helm of ministries before they commit funds to Afghan reconstruction. However, the assertion of parliament is good for Afghanistan as it will put in place a cleaner cabinet. In corruption-wracked Afghanistan this is reason to celebrate.
