22 March 2018•Update: 22 March 2018
By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan
After months of tense political wrangling in Afghanistan, Atta Mohammad Noor, the powerful governor of northern Balkh province, stepped down on Thursday.
In a ceremony attended by officials and leaders of Noor's Jamiat-e-Islami party in the provincial capital Mazar-e-Sharif, Salam Rahimi, head of the president's administrative office, announced the appointment of Ishaq Rahguzar as the new governor.
Rahimi said the change in leadership of the province is not meant to sideline a particular person or political party.
He added that the administrative change had been made in line with a deal reached between the president and the Jamiat party.
Since 2004, Noor had been governor of Balkh province. His party has been in power since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
While announcing his resignation, Noor vowed to take part in the upcoming elections in Afghanistan.
According to the local Salam Afghanistan radio, the government has agreed to appoint two more ministers from Jamiat party into the cabinet in return for Noor's removal.
Last December, President Ashraf Ghani approved the resignation of Noor from his official post. No explanations were given about the circumstances which led to this resignation.
Noor claimed his resignation was not valid under the conditions back then.
This sparked tensions, which saw Noor lashing out at his own party mate Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive officer of the U.S.-brokered National Unity Government, which is beset with disagreements.
"Abdullah is a snake in our midst," he said.
Prior to this, Noor bypassed Abdullah to enter formal negotiations with the president. After they failed, he formed an anti-government alliance along with Vice President Abdul Rasheed Dostum and Deputy CEO Mohammad Mohaqiq.
