News / Afghanistan

Afghan spy chief resigns over ‘disagreements’ with president

Thursday, 10 December 2015 3:05 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 10 December 2015 3:05 PM ]

Rahmatullah Nabil, the head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS)

The head of Afghanistan’s main spy agency has tendered his resignation, citing disagreements with President Ashraf Ghani over his policies amid the rising Taliban militancy in the war-torn Asian state.

In his resignation letter on Thursday, Rahmatullah Nabil, the head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), said that there had been “a lack of agreement on some policy matters” over the past few months.

The intelligence chief also said he was forced to resign due to the president’s “repeated verbal summons,” which had imposed unacceptable conditions on his ability to carry out duties.

The development comes as the Ghani administration has suffered a series of setbacks against the Taliban militant group in recent months, including the fall of the troubled northern city of Kunduz to the Taliban in late September as well as the Tuesday militant attack on Kandahar airport in the south.

The resignation has reportedly been accepted by the government. However, senior Afghan officials have not formally confirmed the report so far.

Nabil stepped down after posting a rare statement on his Facebook page, where he expressed displeasure with neighboring Pakistan’s growing meddling in Afghan internal affairs.

He accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of harboring senior Taliban leaders on the country’s soil.

The Afghan NDS chief also criticized president Ghani for calling on Pakistan to help restart stalled peace talks between the Kabul government and various factions of Taliban.

In this handout photograph released by the Pakistan Press Information Department (PID) on December 9, 2015, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (L) walks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as they arrive to attend the first day of the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad. ©AFP

At a recent regional conference, dubbed the Heart of Asia, in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to stop accusing each other for the Taliban-led violence plaguing both countries.

Pakistan hosted a first round of peace talks between Taliban and Afghan leaders back in July. The talks stalled after the militants belatedly announced the death of their longtime leader, Mullah Omar.

Kabul-Islamabad ties have been sour in recent years, with the two sides trading blames of backing Taliban militants.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed Taliban from power, but insecurity still remains in several provinces.

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