The Washington Post: The fight over the “e-taskira,” as the biometric card is known, has dragged on since Ghani took office in 2015. No one has come to blows yet, but heated political battles over whether and how to identify cardholders by ethnicity and “nationality”— a term commonly used here to mean one’s tribe — have disrupted
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 18, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s political crisis deepened Sunday when a second provincial governor defied a presidential order for his removal. On Saturday, President Ashraf Ghani’s office approved and announced the appointment of new heads for five provinces, including Samangan in the north, as part of efforts to improve local Afghan
Al Jazeera: While Ghani has systematically forced non-Pashtun leaders out of the unity government, he has surrounded himself with Pashtun ethnonationalist leaders. Ghani has also appointed a handful of Pashtu-speaking advisors and has given them full access to government resources and decision-making authority within the Presidential Palace. Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 18, 2018 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — The United States again has called on leaders in Afghanistan to resolve peacefully and expeditiously an ongoing dispute over the leadership transition in a northern province, where the powerful governor is refusing to relinquish control despite being ousted by the country’s president. The political crisis started
Al Jazeera: The 2004 Afghan constitution invests the president with more powers than former Afghan kings had before the republican period. Among them is the power to appoint all government officials, political and professional, from the cabinet to the district levels. At the same time the office of the president, at least in practice, tends to
Tolo News: Atta Mohammad Noor, the ousted governor of Balkh, has ordered the removal of Engineer Mohammad Dawood, the newly-appointed governor of Balkh by President Ashraf Ghani. A letter obtained by TOLOnews shows that the order has been issued based on complaints by residents of Zaare district in Balkh. The residents claimed that Engineer Dawood had
VOA News / December 30, 2017 Ayaz Gul ISLAMABAD — A powerful Afghanistan governor returned to his office Saturday and chaired an official meeting in violation of a presidential decree that ousted him from his post earlier this month. The escalating political uncertainty comes as the United States and its allies step up military efforts in
1TV: Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Monday said he agreed with President Ashraf Ghani’s decision to accept resignation of Ata Mohammad Noor as Balkh governor. Afghan presidency announced approval of Noor’s resignation a week ago. Noor, however, protested the move saying the resignation, offered months ago, was no longer valid, and said that the central
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 23, 2017 One of Afghanistan’s most powerful regional politicians has vowed to defy his ouster as governor of the northern province of Balkh, posing a potential threat to the shaky Western-backed governing coalition of President Ashraf Ghani. The presidential palace said on December 18 that it had approved the resignation
Tolo News: Balkh officials said they are optimistic that Ghani and Noor will reach an agreement as the two sides have started indirect negotiations. Former Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor and President Ashraf Ghani have started indirect negotiations to come to an agreement about their disagreement over Noor’s resignation from his post, local officials said