KABUL: A major shakeup at the top level in the nascent Afghan army amid aresilient Taliban insurgency has caused shockwaves in the war-strickencountry.
President Ashraf Ghani directed the retirement of more than 160 AfghanNational Army (ANA) generals last week.
The Kabul government has labeled this move part of the broader strategy forreforms in the security sector, and phasing out the older generation ofofficers.
“We want reforms to win the war and peace. We don’t want reforms just forthe sake of reforms. This process will continue for our brighter future,”the president said in a statement.
Under a draft law approved by the Afghan parliament in November last year,as many as 2,000 high-ranking military officers are scheduled to retire intwo years.
Considering the surging assaults of the Taliban nationwide, particularly inthe capital Kabul, many army veterans, politicians, and independentanalysts are skeptical of the move.
Hashim Alakozay, who chairs parliament’s defense and internal affairscommittee, is among its prominent critics.
“This move is the direct result of pressure from Western countries” thatare funding the army, he said.
“These generals are being retired illegally without the approval of bothhouses of parliament.”
Alakozay hinted that the Wolesi Jirga (lower house) and Masharano Jirga(upper house) would challenge this move after the winter recess.
The modern Afghan army was formed in 2002, after the fall of the Talibanregime, and its current strength is around 200,000, according to the U.S.Defense Department, the main backer of the Afghan government.
Unclassified statistics indicate that through the end of last year, theU.S. designated $44.1 billion and disbursed $43.5 billion to build, train,equip and sustain the army.
Prior to its establishment, and before the Taliban-rule and the deadlycivil war of the 1990s, the Afghan security sector was overwhelminglyinfluenced, trained, and equipped by the Soviets. Before that there was asignificant Ottoman influence in the sector.
Military affairs analyst Mohammad Ashiqullah said the latest move is aimedat phasing out Soviet-era officers and promoting Western-educated youngofficers who are accustomed to the new arsenal provided by the U.S.
“This corresponds to the long-term strategy of the U.S. in Afghanistan andthis region,” he said.
Within days of taking charge as president in 2014, Ghani signed a bilateralsecurity agreement with the U.S. in a bid to mend ties that had souredbriefly when his predecessor Hamid Karzai refused to sign the pact, andeven publicly criticized Washington.
Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri defended the move as muchneeded.
“This won’t create any vacuum, we have officers in the wings who havecompleted studies and training inside the country and abroad. Thoserespected officers who have been retired were in reserve force, and notactive anyways.”
He said plans are in place to make use of the retired generals for advisoryservices or as academics.
This, however, has not stopped the barrage of criticism directed at thegovernment from various sides.
On one end, some former communist-era officials are grilling the governmentfor sidelining the Soviet-trained officers, who came in handy in revivingthe army after the fall of the Taliban, while on the other, far-rightgroups argue that the Ghani-led government is sidelining Mujahideen andreligious figures from the army.
Atta Mohammad Noor, the ousted governor of the Balkh province who haschallenged the president by not resigning his post, told a gathering in theprovince last week: “It is good that young people come and join the army,but they only use them to achieve their own goals.”
Despite these reservations over the timing and other aspects of the move,there is a general consensus in the government on the move.
“This is part of reforms in the Defense Ministry and this will continue infuture,” Jawed Faisa, spokesman for Ghani’s power-sharing Chief ExecutiveOfficer Abdullah Abdullah, told local Tolo News.
Last year, the president upgraded the army’s Special Forces Unit andSpecial Operations Division to the military corps, and vowed to increaseits strength from the current 13,000 to 30,000.
Ghani has also approved a new security plan for the capital Kabul afterback-to-back terrorist assaults in the capital last month that claimed morethan 200 lives, also calling a suicide bombing outside the InteriorMinistry “Afghanistan’s 9/11.” (AA)