President Ashraf Ghani’s Special Representative for Reforms and Good Governance Ahmad Zia Massoud on Tuesday said that the majority of cabinet ministers were appointed on the basis of political connections. 

He said that even the president was not able to question the weak performance of these ministers because of the political support they have. 

“Some of the cabinet ministers were appointed by the leaders and they just think about their leaders, in some cases if the president has problems with their work, he (president) knows that they have protection, so it makes it difficult for the president (to take action),” added Massoud. 

Talking on the involvement of Pakistan in Afghanistan’s instability, Massoud said that Pakistan still plays a major role in the turmoil in Afghanistan. 

“There is no doubt some terrorist groups in Pakistan are trying to infiltrate central Asia through Afghanistan in order to destabilize central Asia,” said Massoud. 

According to him, insurgents waging war against Afghanistan can be categorized in two groups. 

He said the first group is composed of militants who are being sponsored and supported by Pakistanis while the second group is in opposition to government. 

Massoud made the remarks at a ceremony in the northern province of Parwan. 

Meanwhile, local officials in Parwan have said that there is a lack of security personnel in the province.

“Parwan is one of the strategic provinces, because it is located near the capital, so insurgents try a lot to destabilize Parwan,” said Parwan governor Mohammad Asim.