Afghan's interior minister has tendered resignation, AIP and Kabul News say
Jalali Resigns- Major Changes Rumored in Afghan Government Power Shift back to mujahedeen imminent as Karzai negotiates to save his presidency
Kyodo (Kyodo) - Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali secretly tendered his resignation last week because of differences with President Hamid Karzai over the appointment of provincial governors and administration officials, Afghan Islamic Press reported Monday night.
AIP quoted "extremely reliable sources in Kabul" as saying Karzai has not accepted the resignation and some groups are trying to broker a reconciliation between Jalali and Karzai. Jalali, however, is unwilling to withdraw the resignation, the sources said.
Karzai announced a shuffle of governors in four major provinces --Kabul, Kandahar, Ningarhar and Ghazni -- last week.
Sources inside the government say that Jalali's resignation was pressured by forces loyal to deceased Northern Alliance Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud. And that any inferences that Karzai does not want to accept the resignation are simply for public relations purposes.
With Jalili will leave several key ministry officials, including the Ministry of Interior spokesman, Lutfallay Mashal. Other ministers, including the Minister of Defense, are rumored to be stepping down shortly.
More than 20,000 Massoud loyalists are known to have amassed in the Panjsher Valley, one of the last places of resistance against the Taliban before the Northern Alliance, backed by the U.S., drove the Taliban from Northern and central Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002.
Political opponents of Karzai have voiced their concern and rejection of a government they say is controlled by the U.S. Embassy, and Ministers appointed because they have links to the United States, or U.S. citizenship.
Jalali has also been linked to payoffs from Russian and Pakistani intelligence agencies. One statement is prevalent in Afghan political circles, the Northern Alliance soldiers, known as the mujahedeen, have rejected Taliban leaders returning to their government and government amnesty for terrorists. They want control of their country back, and are willing to fight for it.
| Source is: BBC/Afghan Islamic Press/Cheragh Daily |
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