Afghan Peace Process – U.S. restricts top Afghan official after allegations against U.S. envoy: sources

WASHINGTON/KABUL (Monday, March 18, 2019) – U.S. government has intimated its decision to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that U.S. officials will no longer deal with his national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib after he started allegations and blazing public attacks since last Thursday on the chief U.S. negotiator, Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, as per sources.

On Friday the U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale  had informed Afghan President via a telephonic call that Hamdullah Mohib would no longer be received in Washington and U.S. civilian and military officials would not do business with him, the source said subject to anonymity.

Analysts say that the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fears that Washington has almost agreed U.S. troops pullout to fulfill a vow by President Donald Trump which is the main demand of Taliban in negotiations, which will almost eliminate Ashraf Ghani and his team from upcoming elections – therefore Ashraf Ghani and his team wants to dissuade the peace talks and stall them by particularly targeting chief U.S. negotiator, Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad.

Tensions erupted due to the Afghan government’s exclusion from the U.S.-Taliban talks in Doha, Qatar, after which Mohib started allegations against Khalilzad, at a news conference in Washington accusing him of giving the Taliban legitimacy while “delegitimizing the Afghan government.” He added that Khalilzad perhaps was trying to create “a caretaker government of which he would then become viceroy.”

The US State Department responded promptly quoting Hale as telling Mohib later Thursday that his comments “only serve to hinder the bilateral relationship and the peace process.”

The allegations and severe negative remarks against Khalilzad and U.S. were continued by Ashraf Ghani’s social media team of which most were later deleted as per sources.