Chief Executive Abdullah Slams Afghan President's 'Wish List' Peace Plan

Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has criticized a new peace plan put forward by President Ashraf Ghani as an unrealistic "wish list."

In September, U.S. President Donald Trump stopped months-long negotiations with the Taliban amid ongoing militant violence.

Ghani's team last month released a seven-point proposal aimed at building on the U.S.-Taliban talks and bringing an end to Afghanistan's 18-year-old war.

"To be honest, nobody has taken that so-called seven-point plan as a plan...it's rather a wish list," said Abdullah, who is Ghani's adversary in a September 28 presidential election that has yet to decide a winner.

"Nobody is taking it seriously -- neither the people of Afghanistan, nor anybody," Abdullah said on November 5 in an interview in Kabul with French news agency AFP.

Observers have questioned whether certain proposals in the plan -- including a call for a month-long Taliban cease-fire before talks resume -- are feasible.

The Taliban has so far refused to talk to the Afghan government, which it says is a U.S. puppet.

Abdullah said it is crucial for any future negotiations to include the Afghan government, whether led by him or by Ghani.

Any negotiating team "has to be inclusive; government has to be a part of that," Abdullah said.

Abdullah and Ghani squared off in a first-round vote on September 28 and election officials have repeatedly delayed announcing initial results, citing various technical problems.

Ghani and Abdullah fought an acrimonious race in the 2014 presidential poll, sparking widespread allegations of fraud and prompting Washington to broker an awkward power-sharing agreement between the two rivals under a unity government.

With reporting by AFP