AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: A number of people, in parts of Charikar city of central Parwan province, declared Abdullah Abdullah the Chief Executive of the National Unity Government as the president of Afghanistan.
According to Afghan Pajhwok News, residents of Pul-i-Lashmak area of Charikar, the capital city of Parwan, have installed billboards showing Abdullah Abdullah as the president. The lines written in Dari read as: ‘Dr. Abdullah Abdullah the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.’
Portraits of Abdullah’s deputies are also installed on the billboards showing them as ‘the first and second vice presidents of Afghanistan’. Analysts believe the act is the backfire of the fraud allegations traded between Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani campaigners soon after the Presidential polls were over in April 2014. Now the two have formed a National Unity Government. When the presidential race was hit by a standstill and an international intervention became inevitable, supporters of Abdullah Abdullah has installed similar billboards and posters declaring him the winner of the polls and the ultimate the president. However, the political stalemate was defused by an international mediation.
The report said that the pictures have provoked a number of Parwan residents, as they say that the photos reveal political instability in the country and that undermines people’s confidence in the government.
Abdul Rab Bahadur, a lecturer in a private university in Parwan said that as per the agreement of the National Unity Government, Abdullah Abdullah is the Chief Executive of Afghanistan, not the president.
He said that depicting Abdullah Abdullah as the president of Afghanistan while he is the chief Executive affects the mindset of the people and may trigger political unrest across the political landscape of the country. “This act potentially can affect the smooth running of the government affairs,” he commented.
Ozam Alipur, a resident of Charikar city, said such an attempt by a number of the residents indicates the weakness of the unity government. He said the government has control of 50 percent of Charikar city while the remaining 50 percent is administered by people.
The report quoted Abdul Basir Salangi, the acting governor of Parwan, as saying that the posters have been installed by a number of local commanders. Salangi did not provide details.
As per the source, the spokesmen of the Chief Executive turned down to comment on the matter.