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US Wants Afghan President to Postpone Planned Inauguration, Sources Say

Reuters

   WASHINGTON - The United States wants Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to
   defer his second-term inauguration over concerns it could inflame an
   election feud with his political rival and jeopardize U.S.-led
   peacemaking efforts, two sources familiar with the matter said on
   Monday.

   Ghani claimed victory last week in a disputed Sept. 28 election and
   plans to take the oath of office on Thursday, an Afghan official said.
   His opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani's former deputy, also proclaimed
   himself the winner and is planning a parallel inauguration, according
   to Afghan media reports.

   The competing claims, neither of which Washington has recognized,
   threaten a U.S.-led peace process that got a boost on Saturday with the
   start of a week-long reduction in violence that is to culminate on
   Saturday with the signing of a U.S.-Taliban deal on a U.S. troop
   withdrawal.

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