...the Pashtun equiovalent of men...
attacks on a military base triggered calls for officials to step down.
"President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..has accepted the resignation of the defence minister and army chief of staff," a one-line statement from the presidential palace said.
Angry Afghans had called for the resignations of minister Abdullah Habibi and army chief Qadam Shah Shaheem, among other officials, after the assault outside the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday. Ten gunnies dressed in soldiers' uniforms and armed with boom jackets entered the base in army trucks and shot up unarmed troops at close range in the mosque and dining hall.
The exact toll from the assault remains unclear. Afghan officials have so far ignored calls to break down the toll it has given of more than 100 soldiers killed or maimed, but have been known to minimise casualties in such attacks in the past.