Atta Noor: a strong candidate for Afghan president slot

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: Afghanistan's "King in the North" lolls in an armchair under the portrait of President Ashraf Ghani, the man who sacked him last year -- and who he may now challenge for the country's top job.

Atta Mohammad Noor is refusing to give up the governorship of the northern province of Balkh. Instead, he is using the political crisis to show off his strength, turning him into one of Afghanistan´s most famous politicians.

The dispute comes at a bad time for Ghani's US-backed government, which is facing growing public fury over recent deadly attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in the war-torn country that have laid bare its inability to protect civilians.

"They think I am a big challenge for the 2019 elections," Noor told AFP in the lavishly furnished office of the fortified governor's compound that has been his since 2004. "I am very honest and that´s why people trust me. This is a very big concern for my political rivals. That is why they tried to isolate me, to decrease my popularity among the people, but it went the other way."

The decision to oust the bearded strongman on December 18 has backfired badly on Ghani, who has been criticised for his poor timing and clumsy handling of the issue. Instead of weakening a rival ahead of the presidential election, Ghani has thrust the more charismatic Noor onto the national stage where he has been capitalising on his newfound fame.