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Afghan Blast Aftermath Stokes Government Tensions

Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani on Monday called for the dismissal of heads of the security institutions, following a wave of violence in Kabul. A … Continue reading Afghan Blast Aftermath Stokes Government Tensions


File Photo.

Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani on Monday called for the dismissal of heads of the security institutions, following a wave of violence in Kabul.

A series of blasts in the country’s capital last Saturday killed at least 19 people at a funeral for one of the victims of clashes between police and protesters a day before.

One of the most bloody weeks in Kabul for months began with the devastating truck bomb attack in the city’s diplomatic zone on May 31, killing more than 80 people and wounded at least 460.

The incident was followed by five more deaths two days later during clashes which broke out between protesters and police at a rally, demanding the resignations of President Ashraf Ghani and Government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah over repeated security failures.

Ghani has appealed for unity and promised an investigation into the actions of police who fired on protesters.

But the violence has increased tensions in the government, which has been under increasing strain over the past few months as security has deteriorated.

Built on a U.S.-brokered agreement between the former rivals Ghani and Abdullah after the disputed election of 2014, the partners in Afghanistan’s National Unity Government have been at odds since the start.

Abdullah’s mainly Tajik Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan party has felt betrayed by the way what they understood as a power-sharing accord has produced a government dominated by Ghani and other powerful Pashtuns such as National Security Adviser Atmar.

Rabbani is the head of head of Jamiat-e Islami, the party behind Abdullah.