Rebel governor gives way after political deal

AIBAK: An Afghan provincial governor who had defied President Ashraf Ghani´s order to leave office agreed to step down on Tuesday but scores of armed men gathered in front of his compound as a standoff continued over the position of his deputy. The dispute in the northern region of Samangan has underlined the divisions facing Ghani, who has struggled to impose his authority on powerful regional leaders and who has been locked for weeks in a separate conflict with the powerful governor of neighbouring Balkh province. After refusing to leave office this week, Samangan Governor Abdulkarim Khaddam agreed to go under a deal between his Jamiat-i Islami party and Ghani´s office in Kabul, party officials said. In exchange, Khaddam will take a position on the High Peace Council, a body set up to handle reconciliation efforts with the Taliban.