PESHAWAR: As many as 30 members of the Wolesi Jirga (National Assembly) and several members of the Mesharano Jirga (Senate) in Afghanistan are illiterate. The former were elected directly in the elections while the Senators were mostly nominated by previous President Hamid Karzai. Most of the illiterate MPs are former mujahideen commanders who wield immense influence in their areas after having led armed fighters in the war against the Soviet occupying forces. Due to their illiteracy, these lawmakers are unable to fully take part in the proceedings of the National Assembly and the Senate or contribute to the legislation work. Under the law, the illegal persons won’t be able to contest the next elections for the Parliament. Governors being replaced: After getting the vote of confidence for the second batch of 16 ministers from the Wolesi Jirga (National Assembly), the unity government of President Dr Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah is planning to appoint new governors for the provinces. Reports said Ghani and Abdullah were trying to reach agreement on the appointment of 15 governors and the names would be made public in the near future. The President has already made some appointments of governors. Some were appointed a few months ago and a few new appointments were made recently including governor of the key province of Kandahar, the birthplace of Taliban. Most of those appointed governors are new faces and educated. The former warlords and mujahideen commanders have largely been sidelined. CEO’s powers: Meanwhile, the National Assembly recently debated at some length the powers of the Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah before approving the budget for running his office. Some of the MPs asked awkward questions by pointing out that there was no provision of the post of Chief Executive Officer in Afghanistan’s Constitution. They also wanted the Chief Executive Officer to seek vote of confidence from the Parliament just like the ministers. US-Afghan security agreement: Concerned over the deteriorating security situation and the rising casualties being suffered by the Afghan soldiers and cops in the country, angry MPs are demanding a review of the bilateral security agreement with the US as the latter had failed to assist the Afghan government in countering the security threat. Some of the MPs maintained that the security agreement has many flaws as it was signed in haste. They said insecurity had increased due to the signing of the security agreement with the US. Some MPs thought the US has a secret agenda to fuel insecurity in Afghanistan and make the northern Afghanistan provinces insecure so that the Central Asian countries also become unsafe. Electoral Reforms Commission: Before leaving on his India tour, President Ashraf Ghani succumbed to pressure from his unity government partner, Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah, and replaced his nominee, MP Shukria Barakzai, as the head of the electoral reforms commission. The new head of the commission would reportedly be Jandad Spinghar, who is chairman of the non-governmental organization, Civil Society Network for Election. Spinghar has been campaigning for electoral reforms and was critical of Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission for failing to hold free and transparent presidential polls. He was apparently recommended by Dr Abdullah’s side, which had opposed Dr Shukria Barakzai’s nomination. Dr Shukria, Barakzai, a vocal MP close to President Ghani had backed him in the presidential election. Mujahideen affairs: Realizing the power of the former mujahideen commanders and warlords, Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah earlier appointed Muhammad Asif Azimi as his advisor on mujahideen affairs. Azimi is a former mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviet occupying forces in his native Samangan province in northern Afghanistan. He is affiliated to Jamiat-i-Islami, the party to which Dr Abdullah belonged and which was led by former Afghanistan President Burhanuddin Rabbani until his death in a suicide bombing in Kabul. Azimi also served as a member of the Senate and supported Dr Abdullah in last year’s presidential election. Azimi’s appointment as an advisor may not go well with President Dr Ashraf Ghani, who has gradually sidelined the former mujahideen leaders and made it a point not to include any such figure in the cabinet. Dr Abdullah already has more than a dozen advisors, but this hasn’t stopped from appointing more advisors to accommodate important figures who backed him in the election for president against Dr Ashraf Ghani.
