SIGAR: Ethnicization of politics by Ashraf Ghani caused the collapse of the Afghan army

The US special inspector for the reconstruction of Afghanistan (SIGAR) has said in his new report that Ashraf Ghani’s nationalization of politics led to the collapse of the Afghan army and paved the way for the Taliban to come to power.

Sigar said in his report that “Ashraf Ghani, the former president of Afghanistan, frequently changed the leaders of the ANDSF (National Security and Defense Forces) and appointed loyalists in their place, often based on ethnicity.”

SIGAR added that the Trump and Biden administration’s decision to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan laid the foundation for subsequent decisions that contributed to the collapse of the Afghan army.

According to SIGAR, Afghan forces relied heavily on the US military presence in Afghanistan to resist the Taliban and saw the US as a means of holding their government accountable for paying their salaries.

The report further states that the agreement between the United States and the Taliban, which was signed in 2020 under the Trump administration, weakened the morale of the Afghan forces.