Why is it that in all these years when the Rahmani family was a business partner of the Americans, no action was taken against this family, and now this case has suddenly blossomed?
Author: Rustam Rushangar, analyst, especially for Sangar
FIRST POINT;
It was said that the US Treasury Department considers corruption in the contracting process to be the reason for the sanctions against Mir Rahman Rahmani. In this case, it is impossible to speak without documents and evidence. An adviser to Mr. Rahmani rejected the allegations, called them political, and said they would deal with the US Treasury through legal means.
SECOND POINT;
Many experts called the decision of the US Treasury Department political and intelligence. It is said that one of the reasons for this decision is due to the influence of the Taliban lobby in decision-making bodies in the United States. According to some sources, Rahmani has recently been actively providing financial support to the anti-Taliban resistance, which is why Pashtuns living in the United States are conspiring against him to prevent him from supporting the resistance.
Rahmani also rejected an invitation from Pashtun politicians Hanif Atmar and others to join the political organization they were creating, another reason for American Pashtuns to plot against him.
THIRD POINT;
Regarding the intelligence nature of the decision of the US Treasury. It should be said that the imposition of sanctions against Rahmani immediately following the announcement of sanctions against two officials of the Taliban terrorist group is an intelligence approach. It appears that an attempt was made to place Rahmani among terrorists and notorious figures or to create ethnic balance. Two Pashtun/Taliban were sanctioned and two Tajiks should also be sanctioned.
The Americans have used similar approaches in the past, which is highly questionable. What we are facing here is an approach of denigrating non-Pashtun faces at the same time as whitewashing Pashtun/Taliban faces. The Americans have been actively working for several years in advertising and media to whitewash the Taliban, and now they seem to want to complete the second half of the job by adopting an approach of denigrating actual and perhaps potential opponents of the Taliban.
The question is why during all these years when the Rahmani family was a business partner of the Americans, no action was taken against this family, and now suddenly this issue has blossomed? There are many questions about this.
FOURTH POINT;
Rahmani, one of the famous Tajik political figures who, on his initiative and personal efforts, became the owner of a huge fortune and, with the help of his wealth, achieved a high political position in Afghanistan - took the chair of the head of parliament. That is, he is not like many others who gained power and wealth using the name and reputation of the resistance and did nothing to preserve the reputation of the people and the resistance. You can even say that Rahmani bought power for the Tajiks with his money.
Many may remember that when he announced his candidacy for the post of Speaker of Parliament, a Pashtun youth (named Kamal Nasser Usuli) ran against him on the instructions of Ashraf Ghani. At some private meeting, Usuli said that I knew that Rahmani would win and become the speaker of parliament, but I put forward my candidacy to force Rahmani to spend money.
Some say both Ghani and people associated with Ghani took millions of dollars from Rahmani to remove obstacles to his becoming the Speaker of Parliament. I remember well that many Tajik officials were against Rahmani and conspired with Ghani to prevent him from becoming head of parliament. Rahmani, however, was left alone and, by paying a huge sum of money, achieved his political desire - to secure the position of Speaker of Parliament. Although achieving the post of head of parliament was Rahmani’s desire, I remember that many Tajiks l considered his achievement to be the “share” of Tajiks.
FIFTH POINT;
Although many have pointed to Rahmani's scientific credentials for the post of head of parliament, the fact is that Rahmani, more than any other political figure, acted independently in this position and tried not to be influenced by Ghani and his circle. Although he was not able to accurately define political and legal issues and problems, he listened to the opinions of the scientific, cultural, and literary community, and he had the talent to correctly convey the texts prepared for him. He was not attached to political tricks arising from the idea of the continuity of Pashtun power. The reason for his independent and self-centered action was that he went against the Pashtuns in Arg and the Tajiks who had united with Arg, and believed that he owed no one.
SIXTH POINT;
Friends who have idealistic expectations of figures like Rahmani should know that the Tajiks do not have a defined ethno-political organization so that they can use emerging political and economic opportunities to achieve ethnic strategic goals. Many Tajik politicians and big capitalists feel lonely and helpless in competition and political-economic conflicts, and if they manage to win the battles of unhealthy competition, they will develop a sense of complacency and are not ready to report to the people.
To correct this shortcoming, we, Tajiks, need to create a mechanism that would include politicians and political-economic figures under our support and consultations. Finally, while aligning them with the interests of the nation, they must also be protected from non-Tajik competitors. Such a mechanism has not existed until now.