Four deputies, including Salam Rahimi, Haji Din Mohammad, Attaurrahman Salim and an unnamed fourth, who is reportedly a woman, have been finalized for the High Council of National Reconciliation, sources said on Saturday.
 
The High Council of National Reconciliation will now
have six deputies--the original agreement said five--and two of them will be appointed by President Ashraf Ghani, said the sources. 
 
The peace council has so far not made an official statement on the new appointments.
 
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ismail Khan, a former mujahideen leader, has said that Abdullah’s role in the chairmanship of the peace council is symbolic, stating that decision-making about the peace process will be divided between the Presidential Palace and Sapidar (Abdullah’s office).
 
“There is a woman among the deputies. In the leadership level, there are people from all layers of the society including the political leaders, civil society activists, women, youth and minorities,” said Faraidoon Khawzon, a spokesman to Abdullah Abdullah.
 
Two of the deputies are Abdullah’s running mates in last year’s election.
 
The agreement says the council will provide guidance to the negotiation team through its leadership committee. The negotiation team is expected to attend talks with the Taliban that will be held in Doha after completion of prisoners’ release. 
 
But, sources have said now the number has increased to six deputies.
 
“The peace council and the presidential palace consider themselves genuine authorities about the decision making process,” said Ismail Khan, a former mujahideen leader.
 
“The two doctors (Ghani and Abdullah) have wasted the timely badly, the miseries expanded over the past three months and many people were killed, the responsibility lies on these two men,” said Sayed Eshaq Gailani, the head of Nahzat-e-Hambastagi Milli Afghanistan party.
 
President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a political agreement on May 17 to end the dispute over the 2019 presidential election. Abdullah will lead the High Council for National Reconciliation based on the agreement. 
 
The duty of the council is to create a national, regional and international consensus on peace, attract international support for peace, and attract international support and assistance for post-peace reconstruction efforts, according to the agreement.