The people of Afghanistan, who, despite all hardships, made their ways to the polling stations in a historic election, had high expectations from the outcome of the elections and the new government. They gave their consent for a democratic country but they did not know that their consent alone would not necessarily take them to the land they had imagined and expected. First they were disheartened by the allegations of frauds in the elections and then by the delayed results. It required mediation from other countries to form National Unity government.

With the formation of National Unity government people once again breathed a sigh of relief but the honeymoon was soon over and the leaders of the nation were once again found in disagreement regarding the formation of the new cabinet. The cabinet had to be formed within 45 days since the formation of the new government but now about three months have passed and there is no final decision regarding the cabinet and all people can hear are uncertain news and confusing rumors. These rumors, unfortunately, play a very negative role and pollute the social psychology to a great extent. People, unsure of their future, have already lost the trust from present government and there are many who prioritize dictatorial setup and even the return of Taliban.

Moreover, the people want to know the reason of why there has been such a delay. Though both the President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have promised a couple of times that the names of the new cabinet members would be announced but they have been persistent on breaking their promises. If they are not ready to decide the new cabinet members why there have been promises and why the real reasons have not been made public. People would like to know the actual reasons behind the delay and they have all the right to know them. The government is answerable to the people, and it must make the reasons public if it is not ready to make the announcement. This would make the government more transparent and accountable.   

Apart from confusion and uncertainty, there are many other effects of the lingering indecision – one of the most dominant one being the insecurity. In the recent weeks, the insecurity has hit hard the whole country and even the capital Kabul. There have been many incidents that have clearly depicted the intentions of the insurgents and the evils of the unpreparedness of the government.

The situation has also started NATO to react and share its concern regarding the deteriorating security. NATO's civilian envoy in Kabul, Maurits Jochems, told that while forming a qualified, competent cabinet is a time-consuming task, the nearly three months of delay for the national unity government's cabinet has disappointed the international community. "Of course delays are never good, certainly not in a situation where the security situation isn't at its best, to say the least, where both Afghans and foreign investors are waiting for a government to be in place to bring back security," Jochems said. "It is obvious that, forget about Kabul, but if you look to the provinces, if people are waiting for a new governor to be appointed and a new police chief to be appointed, that doesn't help the security situation," he added.

Same is the case with the parliament. The Afghan parliament has shown its concerns regarding the delay and it has urged the President and Chief Executive to announce the cabinet members as soon as possible and now the Wolesi Jirga has decided to send a delegation to the Palace and discuss the concerns regarding the delay. Deputy Chief Executive, Engineer Muhammad Khan has also urged for a quick decision in this regard. Talking to a gathering in Kabul, he said that both the President and Chief Executive must satisfy the delegation from the parliament and must strive to take quick decision regarding the formation of the cabinet as the lingering delay may invigorate the insecurity.    

With concerns getting serious, it is imperative that both the President and Chief Executive must take the responsibility seriously and must reach to conclusion as soon as possible. Is it possible that there should be mediation from other countries for every disagreement that may arise between the two teams or among the members of the same team? Aren’t our leaders capable enough to make their decisions by themselves? Isn’t it the time that they should start thinking above their personal interest, for the good of the people as a whole?

These are the questions that have to be answered immediately as the people have already lost their trust from the National Unity government. It has proved to be very slow regarding important decision and it would cost Afghanistan to a great extent as there are certain decisions, especially the ones regarding the security of the country, that have to be made immediately and on time. Delaying them would definitely make Afghan people, who are already undergoing troubles, suffer further.