Many ethnic Tajiks criticised Ahmad Zia Massoud for siding with Ghani rather than his presidential rival Abdullah Abdullah, a half-Pashtun-half-Tajik who was one of the Ahmad Shah Massoud's closest friends before the latter's assassination in 2001.
Molts tadjiks van criticar Ahmad Zia Massoud per fer costat a Ghani en lloc del seu rival per a la presidència, Abdullah Abdullah, mig paixtu mig tadjik, qui fou un dels amics més propers d'Ahmad Shah Massoud abans que fos assassinat l'any 2001.