Amidst the intensified fighting across Afghanistan and steady march of the Taliban,  President Ashraf Ghani unveiled major shake-ups-- the second time in two months -- in the top echelon of the country’s security establishment, replacing defense and interior ministers as well as army chief.

Ghani on Saturday announced General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi as the country’s new defense minister, replacing General Asadullah Khalid, reported TOLOnews. General Abdula Sattar Mirzakwal will take charge of the Ministry of Interior in place of Hayatullah Hayat. Wali Mohammad Ahamdzai will be the country’s new army chief in place of  General Zia Siraj.

In the last two years, Ghani’s former defense minister Khalid, for the most time, remained out of the country on medical grounds as the war intensified back home.

The major shake-up came after the Taliban overrun almost 40 districts in the last two months, drawing criticism for the government’s poor military planning. Reports also suggested Ghani also consulted Abdullah Abdullah, the chief peace negotiator, before making these appointments.

Significantly, during the earlier appointments, Ghani faced criticism from Abdullah camp, with whom he had signed a power-sharing deal, for making random ministerial appointments without prior consultation. The removal of Massoud Andrabi from the Ministry of Interior was particularly criticized by Ghani’s opponents.

As the Taliban gains momentum, calls for maintaining political unity on the republic ( Afghan government) side have also grown. Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, in an interview to a German magazine, Der Spiegel, had also said that Afghan leaders were closing ranks and preparing for national resistance against the Taliban’s military takeover.

On Saturday, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former Afghan foreign minister, also called for political unity among leaders to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. (SAM)