DHAKA: Afghan president Ashraf Ghani marked his first 100 days in power on Tuesday, still struggling to form a government as a new political stalemate threatens to fuel the Taliban insurgency.

The deadlock over senior cabinet positions has underlined the challenges of running a ‘unity government’, which was formed after an election mired by fraud and disputed results.

Ghani was eventually inaugurated on September 29 after agreeing to a power-sharing deal with his poll rival Abdullah Abdullah, who was appointed ‘chief executive’, a new role similar to prime minister.

The deal was seen as saving Afghanistan from the risk of imminent civil war, but it was soon bogged down in disagreements over which side's loyalists would take key roles such as interior and defence minister.

BDST: 1520 HRS, JAN 06, 2015