Alwaght- In mid-September 2015, the old scenario of “discord and unity” between the Afghan political groups and parties has been escalated once again. Meanwhile, formation of a new political party, the Council of Jihad and National Political Parties, which consists of leaders of eight major political parties, has been declared in the capital city, Kabul. Such political figures as Sibghatullah Mojaddadi, Sayyid Ahmed Giailani, Karim Khalili, Ahmed Zia Massoud, Mohamed Amin, Vaghad, Abdul Hakim Munib, Sayyid Hussein Anvari, Haji Din Mohammad, Qutbuddin Hilal and Anwar Al-Haq Ahadi, have taken part in the council. Its goal was announced to be creating unity between Afghanistan’s major and jihadi parties.
It is rumored that these figures have become active and united after holding talks with the Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and his advisers. Most of those who have gathered together around this unity circle have been Ghani’s political, ethnic and election campaign supporters and allies in the past and present time. Although the senior members of the new alliance have all criticized the national unity government’s failure to provide security and stability and to fight corruption, saying that their main objective was to make genuine peace and stability and battle the blatant corruption in the country. Regardless of what has been said about the new party’s goals and ideals, there are serious doubts about their independence from the presidential palace.
Despite making some symbolic moves in the initial stages of his presidency, President Ashraf Ghani has failed to handle costly and heavy fight against corruption. His attempt was only limited to controversial closing of Kabul Bank corruption case that was done to draw international aids while the London Economic Conference was to be held at the time. Moreover, regarding providing peace and stability and fighting terrorism no obvious and viable strategy has been presented so far by the Afghanistan’s national unity government. Additionally, the divisions and polarizations are growing day by day in the body of the country’s unity government. Most of the people gathered under the new front are politically outdated figures who except strengthening an alliance which is irrelevant to jihad and the mujahedeen have no influential potentials. They lack the ability for developing a political move or leading an independent political movement that enjoys having ideas and programs. So, they would go to great lengths to preserve their positions in the country’s political scene with the help of the others. As a result, they make attempts to renew their old and time-worn political life’s play cards.
With a regard to the non-democratic events happened in the Afghanistan’s presidential elections it seems that Ghani does not owe his power and credibility to the people’s votes and support. In such a situation, he and his fellows seek to create political and party backups for themselves at the expense of the jihad and the mujahedeen. This issue looks more significant and meaningful in the present time when President Ashraf Ghani’s ties have seen a gap with mujahedeen leaders such as General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who formerly was considered as an ally for Ghani.
It is likely that Ashraf Ghani intends to contain the possible moves and activities of other political parties by establishing such an alliance. Also, recently news was circulating that a new movement, led by two leading mujahedeen leaders Mohammad Younis Qanuni and Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, would be established soon. The national unity is concerned about establishment of a new political alliance headed by such politicians as Sayyaf and Qanuni. Hamid Karzai’s behind-the-scenes cooperation as well as some of the country’s influential figures’ open negotiations with the fresh opposing movement have even intensified the unity government’s worries. The government, despite its slogans and promises, has been unsuccessful so far in such cases as providing security, fighting widespread corruption, meeting the people’s demands, improving the economy, changing the procedures of negotiations with the Taliban group, dealing with the neighboring Pakistan, and making a change in foreign policy. Therefore, a new rival political movement could force Unity government's officials to make adopt some reformist political shows.
Afghanistan 2014 presidential election has made Afghans optimistic about massive changes in economic, security, social, and cultural areas, creating a huge motive and enthusiasm among many of citizens to turn out for casting their votes. However, the eruption of disputes after release of the election results has soon disappointed people for any change. The country’s messy security and social state and the discords and disputes originated from the presidential election have pushed many of the international aid organizations to leave their projects in Afghanistan unconcluded, as on the other hand many of the local and foreign investors, due to deterioration of the country's economic, political and security conditions, have started to pull their money out of Afghanistan and deposit it in foreign banks. Beside these two major reasons some other factors including reduction of the US and its allies’ financial aid to Afghanistan, shift of the international attention from Afghanistan case to Syria and Iraq, intensification of disputes between the groups fired from the new unity government, continuation of the appointive system of substitution in the high levels of the country’s executive administration and failure of the peace negotiations with Taliban, resulted in spoiling achievements made during the past 13 years by the government of the former president, Hamid Karzai.
Now in the time of the unity government, thousands of people are standing in the long lines to get their passports. This issue signals people’s disappointment with the current conditions and the onset of new wave of migrations. Many people have lost their hope for wide-ranging changes in their country as they look desperately at the present miserable circumstances. Most of the people are spurred to immigrate as insecurity, unemployment and spread of poverty keeps increasing in the war-torn country. The citizen’s leaving of Afghanistan and the growing wave of migration indicate that third wave of immigration is taking place in the country.
Division and Alliance scenarios among afghan political parties and groups are deep rooted in the country's political history. Thinking that emergence of new political alliances could abolish the old grounds of the current state, push the unity government into a new process and mechanism and stir a dramatic transformation in the country’s conditions is not more than an imagination and simple-mindedness. Because a major portion of Afghanistan’s troubles derive from the acts of the foreign-backed agents whose only aim are serving global superpowers' interests.
