Afghan governor sacked for disagreements

The governor of the southern Afghan province of Kandahar said that he had received sack order from the central government following disagreements.

The governor of the southern Afghan province of Kandahar said on Thursday that he had received sack order from the central government following disagreements.

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General Rahmatullah Raoufi, who had served as army commander in the southern region, replaced powerful and controversial former governor Assadullah Khalid in August.

Khalid had disagreements with NATO-led Canadian commanders in the province, and Canadian government officials earlier this year had asked President Hamid Karzai to remove him.

"I was told on Friday that I am sacked and I should end my job in Kandahar," Raoufi told DPA on Thursday.

"The thing is that I could not work in this province any more because of another (group of) powerful people," he said, but did not elaborate.

Local media said that Raoufi recently had an argument with Karzai's half-brother, Wali Karzai, who heads Kandahar's provincial council.

Kandahar, which was the former headquarters for Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar during their regime in 1996 to 2001, is the hub of the Taliban-led insurgency.