Some experts and everyday people interviewed by TOLOnews said on Monday said that over the five years of the National Unity Government (NUG), its leaders failed to fulfill their promises, and did not succeed in coming together to tackle major national issues.
According to the people and experts, the leaders of the NUG often were busy in feuding rather than looking for ways to solve problems in the country.
Ashraf Ghani wanted to act alone on issues, and Abdullah acted more as a critic of the government than as a chief executive, some said.
When the National Unity Government (NUG) start working in September 2014, the residents were optimistic about the government.
“We hope that in this country politics will not become a cause of instability, but a means of sustaining stability, and that is the fundamental goal of our national government,” said Ghani in his speech at his first-term inauguration in 2014.
But things did not go as smoothly as expressed in the words of the leaders of the National Unity Government, according to critics.
What was known as the "equal division of power" between Abdullah and Ghani, and which formed the basis for the establishment of this National Unity Government, repeatedly led the two sides to verbal confrontations. And they did not address the peace process in a united or active way, many say, as evidenced by the current leadership crisis in the face of the peace talks.
“I say again that any decision that I have made has been for political stability in the country. Today, the rifts are about the issues that will affect political stability. I cannot help to ensure political stability in this case because I know what happens,” said Abdullah Abdullah five years ago.
In addition to the lack of consensus on major national issues, the disagreement on the formation of a cabinet kept Afghanistan from having a full cabinet for the past five years.
Their feuding also caused ministries to be staffed by acting, rather than full-fledged ministers, and their inability to end the violence was also held against them.
Increasing insecurity in the country even led to the collapse of several major cities to the Taliban, including Kunduz, Ghazni, and Farah, and Afghanistan has also remained at the forefront of countries leading the way in drug production and corruption.
In the winter last year, Ashraf Ghani said that in just four years of the National Unity Government, the death toll of government forces had reached 45,000.
Speaking of Abdullah and Ghani, a journalist said: “Mostly they tried to actually reduce each other. This is, in fact, the biggest weakness of the Afghan National Unity government in five years, in fact, in its whole working period,” said Wahid Paiman, journalist.
People believe that the creation of the National Unity Government brought misery for everyone--even the leaders!
“Everyone was busy... The government did not pay attention to the people,” said Farid, a resident of Kabul city.
“It was very good before the NUG. During their (NUG leaders) tenure they completely eliminated jobs. If they again continue their disputes, they will completely increase unemployment in the country,” said Jawed, a shopkeeper in the city.
As in the days leading up to the formation of the NUG, Afghanistan is again witnessing post-election tensions between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, and both sides have also gone so far as to announce separate governments because they apparently do not want to work together again in a shared government.