A spokesman for Mr. Ghani declined to comment on Mr. Abdullah’s remarks.

In Helmand, the Taliban are encroaching on Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, from multiple directions, cutting off the main roads.

On Wednesday night, Afghan forces barely fended off a Taliban advance on the district of Nawa, just south of Laskhar Gah. More than 3,000 families have been displaced by fighting over the last two weeks, officials in Helmand said.

Advisers to Mr. Abdullah said his angry comments resulted from a growing series of frustrations. Mr. Abdullah, they said, thought Mr. Ghani had increasingly taken advantage of his concessions to the point that he no longer even consulted him on major appointments, like the Civil Service reform chief or important ambassadorial postings.

Mr. Abdullah was particularly upset when Mr. Ghani appointed as ambassador to Spain a former election chief whom Mr. Abdullah accused of election fraud. Another appointment that drew Mr. Abdullah’s ire, the advisers said, was the selection of Mr. Ghani’s elderly uncle as ambassador to Russia.

“The government will not go ahead this way,’’ said Mirwais Yasini, a member of Parliament who is close to Mr. Abdhullah. “Dr. Abdullah was forced to say what he said today because President Ghani is not consulting him on anything. Dr. Abdullah was forced to say these things today as the country is headed in a very risky direction that it could sink.”

Some analysts said, however, that Mr. Abdullah had become isolated not only from the government, but also from his own constituency. They viewed his outburst as a desperate bid to regain support. Many analysts said they were surprised by the bluntness of his comments, particularly at a time when the Taliban appeared to be making significant inroads. Mr. Abdullah himself said that the government had been unable to recover the bodies of soldiers who had been under siege for seven days.