President
Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai should terminate the special election tribunal immediately, because it "lacks a clear legal mandate", ICG said in a news briefing released on Feb. 23th.
International Crisis Group is an independent and non-profit organisation covering around 60 crisis-hit countries in four continents.
| Perhaps their attention has been a bit attenuated these past many years, then, that they should suddenly draw such an astounding conclusion. |
It said the problem will end up leading "disenfranchised" Afghans to join the Taliban side.
"The warning signs that the September 2010 parliamentary polls could destablise the country were readily apparent months before the election were held. But Afghan leaders and the international community chose to turn a blind eye," said Candace Rondeaux, Crisis Group's Senior Analyst for Afghanistan.
"Flaws in the process were ignored in favour of maintaining the false narrative of greater momentum in the battle against the Taliban," the analyst further said.
ICG urged the parliament to immediately place electoral and constitutional reform at the top of their agenda.
"The President's political survival and that of the Afghan government depend on the ability of all stake-holders to reduce the trust deficit between the Afghan people and their government by adopting genuine reforms," said Robert Templer, Crisis Group's Asia Programme Director.
But Karzai's Office said the special tribunal has been formed to bring an end to the crisis.
"We don't expect ICG or any other international organisation to interfere in our domestic judicial affairs. All the courts in Afghanistan have been formed based on Afghan's political structure," Deputy Spokesperson to President Karzai, Seyamak Herawi said.
"The tribunal is legal and it's formed to end a crisis rather than creating one," Mr Herawi said.
Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
Head of Afghanistan Civil Society Forum Thursday said the Afghan House of Representatives has turned into a house of "disunity".
The tensions over house speaker election would stoke fires of ethnic, racial, regional and lingual differences if the present situation continues, Head of civil society forum Mohammad Aziz Rafiyi said.