Ata Mohammad Noor, the former governor of Balkh province, has accused former Afghan President Hamid Karzai of paving the way for the Taliban’s return to power and facilitating Ashraf Ghani’s path to the presidency.
Noor published the open letter to Karzai on his X account today, Thursday, 29 Asad (August 20), accusing Karzai of supporting the Taliban in various ways during his presidency and of creating conditions that enabled the group to regain legitimacy and expand its influence.
He also accused Karzai of paving the way for Ashraf Ghani to become president through what he described as the “narrow path of ethnicity and prejudice.” Noor said that responsibility for Afghanistan’s current situation does not rest solely with Karzai, but argued that a significant share of the responsibility lies with the former president.
In his letter, Noor wrote: “I am not saying that everything that has befallen this nation is solely your fault; however, the greatest share of the blame, guilt, and responsibility for this situation falls on you.”
The former Balkh governor added that by creating the conditions for the Taliban’s return to power, Karzai had subjected the Afghan people to a “bitter fate.” He also criticized Karzai for speaking out against the Taliban’s current restrictions while, in Noor’s view, having played a role in creating the circumstances that led to them.
Noor went on to cite the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education, the exclusion of women from public life, Afghanistan’s deteriorating relations with the international community, the country’s isolation, and increasing poverty and underdevelopment as consequences of the current situation. He also criticized Karzai’s recent statements concerning these conditions.
Noor asked Karzai which of his actions the Afghan people should believe: his “whitewashing and paving the way for Taliban rule,” his role in “bringing Ashraf Ghani to the presidency,” or his “seemingly sympathetic expressions today” regarding the plight of the Afghan people and the country.
Noor further claimed that Karzai continues to live in a palace and benefit from state resources and funding, while, according to him, Afghans are facing poverty, psychological distress, and an uncertain future.
The remarks come as Karzai has repeatedly criticized the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education and called for restrictions on women and girls to be lifted. In his latest statement, issued on the occasion of Afghanistan’s 107th Independence Day anniversary, he again emphasized the need to provide educational opportunities for girls, saying that preserving the country’s independence and stability requires a generation of educated young people.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
