KABUL (Pajhwok): The Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament on Saturday decided to summon the former spymaster and ask him questions about reasons behind his resignation.
On Thursday, President Ashraf Ghani accepted the resignation of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) chief, hours after he passed critical remarks against the head of state.
“I regret,” spymaster Rahmatullah Nabil wrote a day earlier on in his Facebook page about President Ashraf Ghani’s trip to Pakistan and the warm welcome he was accorded by the host leadership.
Nabil said President Ghani was given a 21-gun salute and a guard of honour at the Nur Khan Airbase in Islamabad while innocent civilians in Kandahar, Helmand and other provinces were under attack by Pakistan-backed militants.
Nabil said he had resigned under immense pressure. Maj. Gen. Massoud Andarabi has been appointed as new chief of the country’s intelligence network.
Abdul Sattar Darzabi, a lawmaker from northern Jawzjan province, said the resignation of Nabil was a huge loss for security institutions. He said Nabil should have consulted lawmakers about the pressure on him.
Nasrullah Sadiqi Zada Nelli, a lawmaker from Daikundi province, said: “We have granted the trust vote to Nabil as head of the spy service and we reserve the right to question him about his resignation.”
He called on security forces to be ready for a difficult situation because insecurity traditionally increased whenever steps for the peace process were taken.
During the recent Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Conference in Islamabad, the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan decided to re-launch the second phase of peace talks with the Taliban.
Also Pakistan and Afghanistan had decided that groups not taking the path of peace should be eliminated.
Haji Zahir Qadir, deputy speaker of Wolesi Jirga, said: “We don’t believe in Pakistan’s sincerity and the international community should guarantee in written that Pakistan would keep its promises.” He also said Nabil should be summoned to brief lawmakers about his resignation.
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