Afghan media reports say Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has accepted resignation of Ata Mohammad Noor, the Governor of northern Balkh Province.
A statement released by the Presidential Palace on Monday says Ata Mohammad Noor was resigned from his position as the governor of Balkh province a while ago and the president has appointed Mohammad Dawood as new governor for Balkh province.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press news agency reports the Jamiat-e-Islami led by acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani strongly condemned the decision of President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani regarding the acceptance of Balkh governor Ata Mohammad Noor’s resignation.
The party reportedly said in a statement that the decision regarding Balkh governor’s resignation has been taken hastily and called it an irresponsible move and against the stability and current situation of the country.
The statement further added that Jamiat-e-Islami strongly condemns the decision and calls it a move against the principles of the agreement of the government of national unity.
Earlier reports had emerged suggesting that the Balkh governor Ata Mohammad Noor is under pressure to resign from his position.
A member of the Jamiat-e-Islami and ex-presidential envoy Ahmad Zia Massoud had earlier warned that the dismissal of Mr. Noor will have a negative impact on the situation of the country, according to Khaama Press.
Atta Mohammad Noor (born 1964) is a politician in Afghanistan, serving as the Governor of Balkh Province in the north of the country. He was appointed in 2004 by President Hamid Karzai. An ethnic Tajik, he worked to educate the Mujahedeen after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, gaining the nickname “The Teacher.” He then became an anti-Soviet mujahedeen resistance commander for the Jamiat-e Islami. When the Taliban took power in late 1996, Atta Noor served as a commander in the anti-Taliban United Front (Northern Alliance) under Ahmad Shah Massoud
