Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

FM Condemns US CODEL Statement

FM Condemns US CODEL Statement

Govt. Lost its Self confidence: ANF

KABUL - Any proposal from outside parties about changes in the present form of government in Afghanistan tantamount to interference in the country's internal affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
The condemnation comes a day after a group of US Congressmen and leaders of the Afghanistan National Front (ANF) suggested that parliamentary system was a good alternative to the present presidential system to resolve the ongoing political crises.
After their meetings, the front leader, Ahmad Zia Massoud, told a joint press conference in Kabul on Sunday that the only solution to resolve the crises was to switch to a parliamentary system with decentralization of power in Afghanistan.
In a joint statement, they said comprehensive reforms were needed in the country's political system ahead of foreign troops' withdrawal, saying the present government system was rife with corruption.

The US embassy in Kabul on Monday distanced itself from the private meeting between the visiting Congress members and Afghanistan National Front in Kabul.
The congressmen did not represent the State Department or any other part of the executive branch, the embassy said in a statement.

Janan Musazai, the foreign ministry spokesman, told a press conference in Kabul that the country's constitution gave the Afghans the right to criticize the government but foreigners had no right to propose changes to the system.

He said political forces had the right to float suggestions about brining improvement in the government system and strengthening democracy. However, he said such suggestions from foreigners amounted to interference.
"We condemn these suggestions as interference because only the Afghans have the right to talk about change in the form of government," Musazai said. He said the people of Afghanistan had the ability to decide about their future.

Early this year on January 9-10, a number of Afghan politicians held meetings with US congress members in Germany on political system in Afghanistan. They decided to make efforts at introducing a parliamentary system in the country to replace the presidential system.
They called for a decentralized system in which governors have more powers.

Afghanistan National Front
Reacting to the aggressive statement about the meeting of US Congressional Delegation to the leadership Council of the Afghanistan National Front, Faizullah Zaki, the spokesman for the ANF said, "Government is over reacting. These types of meeting are not beyond the normal activities of CODEL…..US is the largest stakeholder in the ongoing developments, its the largest donor to our country with having largest number of forces in ISAF, largest number of forces casualties, it is legitimate right of the US to be concerned about the present state of situation."

He said, "The sort of intolerance shown by the government proves that didn't lose only the confidence of Afghan but also lost its self-confidence too."
Commenting on the statement issued by the US embassy Kabul that the statement by the congressmen are just a private view Zaki said, "Yes, the US embassy is right, we are trying to explain the same thing, the views don't reflect the US government's official stand. The US is a country with different bodies and the congress is one of the important one. The US is a good model of separation of authorities among the various braches of the state. We appreciate US congressmen who often visit Afghanistan and meet various domestic stakeholders to understand the situation in a better way."

Zaki added, "Karzai administration tries to show a scenario where there if Taliban on one side and his government on the other which is incorrect presentation of the situation. The world should understand that Afghanistan is a diverse country with different point of views. He is President because of us and should not forget that even after a controversial presidential election he was shortfall of required percentage of vote."


About Dana Rohrabacher's absence from the CODEL meeting with ANF leadership, he said, "We don't have any concrete information on this issue but Dana is a recognized friend of Afghanistan. He is a peace loving person and tries to promote the voices for justice throughout the world. He cares about a united Afghanistan with good governance and a viable system which could help Afghanistan on the path of peace, stability and prosperity." (Pajhwok/Outlook)