Afghan leader rejects resignation letters from spy chief, ministers
27 August, 2018
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday rejected the resignations of the intelligence chief and the interior and defense ministers, as the government faces fierce criticism over an increasingly deadly insurgency.
Ghani called on Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak and intelligence chief Masoom Stanekzai to continue their duties, after rejecting their resignation letters submitted Saturday and demanding they help bolster the country’s defenses.
“President Ghani did not approve their resignations ... and gave them the necessary instructions to improve the security situation,” said a palace statement.
Earlier Saturday, Ghani’s powerful national security adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar had resigned, in a blow to the embattled unity government before parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
The Ghani administration has been widely criticized for its inability to counter the energized insurgency. The Taliban has intensified assaults on police and troops across the country and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group has targeted the capital Kabul.
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