Afghanistan’s Taliban militants yesterday decried a pact by rival election candidates to form a government of national unity as a “sham” orchestrated by the US and unacceptable to the Afghan people.

Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani was named president-elect on Sunday after he signed a deal to share power with his opponent, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, ending months of turmoil that has destabilised the country as most foreign troops prepare to leave.

Ghani’s administration must now not only forge an effective government after so much acrimony, but also deal with an emboldened Taliban insurgency, with little, if any, help from foreign forces.

Americans must understand that all agreements are made by Afghans

The Taliban have been fighting to oust US-led foreign forces and their spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, rejected the national unity government pact as a ploy orchestrated by their enemy. The US strongly pushed for a power-sharing deal between Ghani and Abdullah in order to prevent the election dispute from descending into deadlock and even violence between supporters of the candidates.

“Installing Ashraf Ghani and forming a bogus administration will never be acceptable to the Afghans,” Mujahid said.

“The Americans must understand that our soil and land belong to us and all decisions and agreements are made by Afghans, not by the US foreign secretary or ambassador.”