Rows, resignations underscore Afghan crisis

KABUL: A public row that saw two top security officials trade recriminations live on television has sharply highlighted the divisions undermining Afghanistan´s Western-backed government, even as insurgents have stepped up pressure on the battlefield.

The spat between Interior Minister Wais Barmak and Mohammad Sadiq Muradi, deputy police chief of Kabul, after a rocket attack on the capital, came at the end of a deadly few weeks in which the Taliban killed hundreds of soldiers and police and briefly seized the strategic city of Ghazni. Commenting on the row, Interior Minister Barmak said: “Differences between officials over security issues do not reflect disarray, but, instead, proves that we are working towards improving strategy.”

But last month´s quarrel, broadcast live on local news channels, was only the most visible sign of the fractures tearing at President Ashraf Ghani´s government as it struggles to contain the insurgency amid an increasingly fevered political climate ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections this year and next, according to government sources. In the same week, National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar, one of the most powerful figures in the government, resigned amid speculation he is preparing to challenge Ghani in next year´s presidential election.

Three other top officials, Barmak, Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami and intelligence chief Masoom Stanekzai also offered to step down, but Ghani refused to accept their resignations. While clearouts of senior officials have followed major security failures in the past, the divisions have hit confidence in the government just as a ceasefire in June had offered a brief glimpse of peace after 17 years of war. “The Taliban knows that our top bosses are busy fighting inside conference rooms and are sending mixed signals to the forces on the ground. . . this helps them seize every opportunity to lay siege on cities and villages,” said a minister in Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Our inherent flaw works in the Taliban´s favour. “The row between Barmak and Muradi was a case in point, with the minister accusing the police commander of incompetence and Muradi complaining that his leaders were out of touch.

“I swear to God that nobody in the leadership of interior ministry listens to us,” Muradi said. The accusations reflect the disunity and lack of coordination between security officials that have repeatedly hampered the government´s fight against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. Ghani´s office declined to comment.