Kabul, April 24 (IANS): Afghan Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi and the army chief, General Qadam Shah Shahim, resigned on Monday in the wake of an attack at an army base in Balkh that left over 140 soldiers dead.
According to the President’s Office, Habibi and Shahim “stepped down with immediate effect” and President Ashraf Ghani has accepted their resignations, it said.
Interior Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami has been appointed the acting Defence Minister and General Sharif Yaftal is the new acting army chief, a statement from the ARG Palace said.
The development follows the attack last Friday at 209 Shaheen Military Corps Headquarters in Mazar-e-Sharif city that also injured about 80 soldiers.
Habibi was appointed in June 2016 and Shahim had been serving as the army chief early 2015, Khaama Press reported.
The attack has led to a widespread outrage in the country with Afghan people asking for the resignations of the officials responsible.
Afghan MPs on Sunday said 209 Shaheen Army Corps Commander Major General Mohmand Katawazai, Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor, Habibi, Shahim, Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Jahid and Head of the National Directorate of Security Masoom Stanekzai must be held accountable for the assault.
Afghanis welcomed the move soon after the news of their resignation broke on social media.
“Ghani also needs to resign,” Afghan man Abdulahi said on Facebook.
Another Facebook user, Mardoomdar, said: “It is very good news. How many other youths would have died (had they not resigned).”
Killings on rise in presence of US forces in Afghanistan: Karzai
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai once again slammed the US for its failure to take action against the Taliban and said killings are on the rise in the presence of US forces in Afghanistan.
Karzai had earlier declared a hard stance against the presence of American forces in the country, Khaama Press reported.
In a meeting with Chinese envoy to Afghanistan Yao Jing, Karzai on Sunday discussed the current situation in Afghanistan and said that regional countries should assist Kabul and must not let the US destroy it.
At least 140 soldiers were killed when Taliban militants stormed the 209 Shaheen Army Corps Headquarters in Balkh province and opened fire at army personnel as they prayed at a mosque in the compound.
According to a statement issued by his office, the former President said the presence of US forces in Afghanistan was turning it into a rivalry ground.
This comes as Karzai vowed to step up efforts to oust American forces from Afghanistan after the US earlier this month dropped “Mother of All Bombs” against Islamic State militants in Nangarhar province.
He slammed the government for allowing the US to carry out the strike and insisted the move would be a national treason if the government had approved the use of the massive bomb, Khaama Press reported.
Karzai also endorsed the relations between the Taliban and Russia, saying the Taliban had influence in almost 50 per cent of the Afghan soil and that the world powers had no choice but to interact with the group.
