After a disputed presidential election which left Afghanistan’s Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah both claiming the presidency, a deal is finally being made. Abdullah reported a tentative agreement was reached, and the details will be made public soon.
Ghani, who the polls showed was a narrow victor, had proposed a compromise in which he’d be president, Abdullah would be a Vice President and be in charge of peace talks with the Taliban. It’s not clear that’s the framework of the new deal.
Reports, however, do say that the agreement is focused both on trying to get ready for Taliban talks, and to unify the political power blocs to get ready for a coronavirus pandemic that is picking up pace inside Afghanistan.
The US punished Afghanistan with a $1 billion aid cut over the indecisive election, which officials said was against American interests. It is unlikely that will be restored, but if a deal holds it may allow them to avoid a similar cut threatened for 2021.
… W8, didn’t Ditz write something like this last month?