The political agreement signed on May 17 authorizes a 50-50 percent sharing of the cabinet between President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. 

Abdullah, according to the agreement, is the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation.
The agreement also allows the two sides to appoint their favorites as governors or to other specified government posts.

But what makes this political agreement different from the agreement for the National Unity Government (NUG), which both leaders signed in 2014?

In the NUG, Abdullah had a 50 percent share in the government. The NUG required constitutional approval, but this time, according to experts, at least the main structure of the government has been kept, and Abdullah has been given a 50 percent share in cabinet appointments but he will not lead the council of ministers meetings anymore as he did under the NUG. 

This time, according to experts, Abdullah has a critical task: leading the peace efforts, which makes this agreement different when compared to the NUG agreement.

The promotion of former vice president Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum to the rank of marshal is a key component of the Abdullah team's partnership in the government.

The agreement also gives Dostum membership in the High Council of Government and the National Security Council.

“It has been discussed that the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation can call for meetings on peace affairs… But I think that it has some type of difference with the National Unity Government,” said Mohammad Mohaqiq, head of the People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan.

Sources said the Ministry of Interior Affairs; the Ministry of Justice, Labor and Social Affairs; the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation; the Ministry of Transportation; the Ministry of Economy; the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock; the Ministry of Higher Education; the Ministry of Borders and Tribal Affairs; the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; and the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology have been offered to Abdullah by President Ghani.

Sources said that the two sides have reached an agreement on their share in some ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Governors are appointed based on a rule agreed upon between the two sides, according to the agreement. Appointments and removals in other posts will be based on "justifiable reasons," and new appointments should be based on merit and legal conditions.

Besides the relief and rising hope, doubts still remain about the future of an inclusive government between Ghani and Abdullah.

“I am not optimistic because we have had a bitter experience from the National Unity Government over the last five years,” said Ghulam Hussain Naseri, an MP.

“You saw that it was proved that the two sides were rejecting each other, but now they have agreed,” said Belqis Roshan, an MP, referring to Ghani and Abdullah.