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| India-Pakistan |
| New Afghan opportunity |
| 2014-10-12 |
| [DAWN] By all accounts, Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. is an intellectually arrogant and prickly personality, yet amenable to flattery. He seems to have a 'chip on the shoulder' regarding Pakistain. Having been parachuted into Afghan politics from the Washington-based World Bank, Ghani does not have a 'natural' constituency within Afghanistan, even among his fellow Pakhtuns. He is dependent on the support of disparate Afghan warlords, like Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... . President Ghani may thus have limited authority to negotiate with the several power centres in Afghanistan including the Taliban. |
| Posted by:Fred |