A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in May between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the National Directorate of Security (NDS) of Afghanistan will not be implemented, said former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai here on Thursday.
‘Rejected by people’
In the first indication that the Ghani government may not be able to operationalise the controversial agreement between the two intelligence agencies, Mr. Karzai said it was “rejected by the Afghan people”.
“The MoU does not remain, will not remain…No. We [President Ghani and I] had a conversation about that which will bear fruit as time moves on.
“It [MoU] is something the Afghan people have rejected…they have not accepted it. It is clearly against Afghan interests,” Mr. Karzai told a small group of journalists during a visit.
Mr. Karzai’s comments come months after the Afghan parliament witnessed uproar over the contents of the MoU reportedly signed in May 2015.
Mr. Karzai’s comments come months after the Afghan parliament witnessed uproar over the contents of the MoU reportedly signed by Afghan intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil and ISI Chief General Rizwan Akhtar in Kabul in May 2015. Lawmakers in the lower house, the Wolesi Jirga had threatened to “invalidate” the MoU unless it was discussed and approved by them.
In his first open outburst against the government, Mr. Karzai had called the MoU an “embarrassment”, which had led to a meeting between him and President Ghani in July. While Mr. Karzai holds no official post, he continues to be influential in Afghan politics and both President Ghani and CEO Abdullah have served in his Cabinet.
Denying reports in the British paper The Guardian, that his criticism was seen as part of a conspiracy to unseat President Ghani, Mr. Karzai told The Hindu that the MoU with the ISI was a “national issue”.
“As a citizen of Afghanistan I have a right to speak and say that it was wrong. Other than that I am fully behind the Ghani government and my services are always available,” he added.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have taken a nosedive in recent weeks over a spate of attacks in Kabul and other cities, and President Ghani has issued two sharp statements blaming Pakistan for the violence. “There is credible evidence that the leadership, command and control centre, support infrastructure and sanctuaries of the Haqqani Network and other terrorist groups are inside the Pakistani territory,” President Ghani said in a statement on September 1, just ahead of a visit by Pakistan National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz for a regional conference. The relations have been further strained after peace talks with the Taliban were cancelled in a cloud of mistrust over the announcement of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
Speaking about relations between India and Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai said that the Strategic Partnership Council at the Foreign Ministers’ level must be revived at the earliest. As The Hindu had reported last week, the Indian government has rebuffed Afghanistan’s proposals to hold a meeting of the Council on at least four occasions this year, ostensibly upset over the close ties between President Ghani and the Pakistan military.
While he refused to comment on whether that relationship was changing, Mr. Karzai said he “strongly recommends” that India launch the Strategic Partnership Council at the earliest. “The Afghan government wants this dialogue, and India must start it,” he urged.
Mr. Karzai admitted that he was disappointed that the strategic partnership was not the one he “envisioned” in 2011. “In terms of reconstruction..[]…education, India has gone far beyond anyone else. In terms of security assistance, India has been hesitant, for reasons known to India, which we in Afghanistan would hope would have been better. India should be more forthcoming and forward-looking with the Afghan government and people much more.”
In particular, Mr. Karzai said India had been “hesitant” to supply equipment requested by Afghanistan, acceding only to supplying limited numbers of military jeeps and ambulance, 3 helicopters, and providing training for ANA soldiers.
(Full link of Mr. Karzai’s comments can be viewed online at thne.ws/HKarzai)
