Abdullah thanks Iran's support for consensus of Afghan parties

Tehran, May 18, IRNA - Chairman of the Afghanistan's High Council of Reconciliation (HCR) Abdullah Abdullah on Monday expressed his gratitude to the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for his support of Abdullah's agreement with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. Abdullah thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran on his Twitter account for its support of the political agreement signed on Sunday as well as for the establishment of a ceasefire and a regional agreement. "I told the Iranian Foreign Minister in this conversation that peace is our priority and also called for the development of bilateral cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan which will lead to lasting peace and having regional stability," he stated. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi welcomed Sunday's agreement between the two winners of the recent Afghan elections and also said that The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to assist in the process of Afghan-Afghan political dialogue and to continue the process of alignment of Afghan groups, including the Taliban. After a months-long stalemate of struggles and crisis over the Afghan presidential election that plunged the country into a political crisis signaling the end by a political agreement which was signed today between Abdullah Abdullah, the leader for “Stability and Convergence” electoral team, and President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. The agreement was signed on Sunday afternoon in the presence of Hamed Karzai , the former President, Mohammad Karim Khalili, the leader of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, an Afghan former jihadi elder, Mohammad Yunus Qanuni, a member of the leadership of the Jamiat-e-Islami Party of Afghanistan, and Nematullah Shahrani as well. In this agreement, Abdullah chair High Council of National Reconciliation which has five deputies, an independent budget and specific powers and will be given a 50 percent share in the cabinet and provincial appointments as well. Accordingly, provincial governors will be appointed based on a rule agreed upon by both sides. Their appointments and removals should also be made based on justifiable reasons. In addition, former vice president Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum was announced as the marshal rank by Ashraf Ghani. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a phone conversation with Ghani and Abdullah on Sunday said Iran supports consensus among all Afghan groups. He also welcomed progress in the process of national reconciliation process.