Political rifts

War-weary Afghans have been the victims of officials 'political rifts and corruption. A number of officials are believed to exercise ethnic discrimination, being involved in corruption and abuse of power. These issues generated further challenges.

Hence, Afghan people have urged the government to put an end to such issues and conduct the upcoming parliamentary and provincial elections, which will be held on Oct 20, in a fair and free way.

But the challenges will continue since there is no effective mechanism to address them. It is believed that the 2019 presidential election will encounter many challenges since the differences and political rivalries between political parties have reached their climax.

In brief, Afghanistan is embroiled in many challenges and it will take time to tackle the issues. The political syndrome has lingered for almost two decades and will continue at least for one more decade.

Afghanistan' allies will have to alleviate the challenges rather than aggravate them. If Khalilzad's appointment creates new challenges for the country, the US has to revise this issue. Moreover, the international community should support Afghanistan in tackling the challenges regarding the elections and narrow the gap between the political parties.

The author is a columnist for Daily Outlook, an independent newspaper in Afghanistan.