AT News
KABUL: The High Peace Council (HPC) on Friday voiced concern over the recent validation of the State Ministry for Peace (SMP), saying that as a result of this move, the council’s employees were facing an uncertain fate.
Last week, the Afghanistan parliament endorsed the presidential decree regarding the establishment of SMP and thus this ministry was included in the country’s government machinery.
The HPC’s deputy head, Azizuddin Mohammad, said the SMP was a parallel structure and after its formation the council’s employees were facing an uncertain fate.
The HPC Chairman Karim Khalili and his deputy are in CEO Abullah Abdullah’s ticket – incumbent President Ashraf Ghani’s rival team. Meanwhile, there are deep-rooted differences among the head and employees of this council, something that many experts believe would damage the peace process.
Mohammad said the government should either clarify HPC’s duties and mandate or take a decision of its dissolution.
Although the government hasn’t officially decided to dismiss HPC, there have been some reports suggesting that HPC’s employees haven’t received their salaries for the past five months and its provincial offices have been shut down.