Afghan governor dismisses announcement he has resigned

KABUL – A powerful Afghan provincial governor is dismissing an announcement by the presidential palace that his resignation has been accepted.

Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of northern Balkh province, dismissed the order, saying no one in the National Unity Government has the right to remove him from his position unless his party, Jamiat-e Islami, makes that decision.

There was no immediate reaction from the presidential palace.

In an address Saturday broadcast live on local TV, Noor said his party made a mistake in backing the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah during the past election. Noor once supported Abdullah Abdullah.

Last week, the palace announced that President Ashraf Ghani had accepted Noor’s resignation, but Noor says that so far their negotiations have not come to a conclusion.