MAZAR-I-SHARIF - Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor has begun talks with President Ashraf Ghani on the Jamiat-i-Islami Party’s coalition with the government, a public representative said on Saturday.
The talks by Noor on behalf of the Jamiat party have sparked argument among the party leaders.
Noor had said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah could not represent the Jamiat party and that was why he had himself started talks with the president.
Meanwhile, some leaders of the party expressed their opposition to Noor’s talks with the president and said they had not been consulted on the matter.
Several meetings between Jamiat leaders took place in recent days, with the latest meeting taking place in Kabul where a large number of Jamiat workers were present.
Central leaders of the party, Noor and Abdullah, had also held exclusive meetings about the coalition.
A close aide of Noor and provincial council chief Dr. Mohammad Afzal Hadid said Noor was talking to the president on behalf of the party and the talks would continue for some time.
He told Pajhwok Afghan News during an exclusive chat that a minor dispute occurred among the party leaders during a meeting at Ahmad Zia Massoud’s residence over the ongoing talks. He said the talks were ongoing and no one had opposed the parlays.
About any outcome of the talks between the Jamiat and the government, Hadid said any judgment in this regard would be premature. However, he said Atta Mohammad Noor could represent the party in the talks.
“Anyone opposed to the talks or against Noor’s representation of the party is his/her own view.”
He said the talks should be allowed to continue because the talks were in the national interest and were aimed at steering Afghanistan out of its crises.
He said the talks were launched after Abdullah failed in implementing the unity agreement deal and the party leadership decided to begin talks with the president in the interest of Afghanistan.
Earlier, a lower house member from northern Balkh province and a close aide of Noor, Farhad Azimi, told reporters that implementation of the unity government deal would be the main point of discussion between governor Noor and President Ashraf Ghani.
He said Noor began talks with the president after Abdullah failed to fulfill the government’s and Jamiat’s pledges.
Advisor to Abdullah, Syed Aqa Hussain Sanchakari, said Noor was meeting the president regarding his personal issues.
Governor Noor is head of the Jamiat-i-Islami party executive council. (Pajhwok)