Afghan opposition politicians reacted with anger to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's weekend declaration that the 2014 deal setting up President Ashraf Ghani's national unity government would allow it to serve a full five-year term.
Kerry's comments followed U.S. concern at mounting political tension in Kabul, where opposition groups have been pressing for a constitutional loya jirga, or special assembly, to decide the future of the government later this year.
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Fazel Hadi Muslimyar, speaker of the Senate, branded Kerry's intervention "interference in our domestic affairs" and said Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah should be pushing to convene the loya jirga by September.
The spat highlights the risk of a serious political crisis in Afghanistan in coming months as the Taliban press their insurgency against a government that has struggled to ensure security and provide basic services.
Under the terms of the deal brokered by Kerry after the disputed 2014 election, a loya jirga was due to be held within two years to decide on transforming Abdullah, the runner up, into a prime minister.
However Kerry said that although the goal was to hold a loya jirga, there was no fixed deadline and the government could serve its five-year term.
Before any assembly can be held, parliamentary and district elections, which would be key to selecting participants, must take place but there are doubts about whether they can be organized in time given the worsening security situation.