KABUL (Pajhwok): Massoud Foundation chief Ahmad Wali Massoud on Thursday formally nominated himself as a candidate for the upcoming presidential election, saying a leadership change was central to steering the country out of the prevailing crisis.
President Ashraf Ghani, former national security advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar, ex-ambassador to India Shaida Abdali and lawmaker Abdul Latif Pedram have already jumped into the 2019 presidential race.
“There is need for national consensus on pulling the country out of the current crisis. Therefore, I have decided to contest next year’s presidential polls,” said Massoud, who is a brother of former Northern Alliance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
He claimed people were fed up with the individuals who had ruled the country over the past 17 years. Without a leadership change, he warned, Afghanistan’s problems would linger on.
Massoud slammed the national unity government a failure, alleging that the rulers had been unable to implement the power-sharing agreement signed five years ago.
Maulvi Shahzada Shahid, a lawmaker from Kunar province, supported the nomination of Wali Massoud. He stressed unity in the Massoud family and hailed the strategy of Wali Massoud for forging national consensus.
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