A group of 45 people from tribal elders, civil society activists and university lecturers have landed in Balkh province, in the north of Afghanistan, to end the ongoing rift between Presidential Palace and Atta Mohammad Noor by mediating between the two sides.

Members of the group called on the two sides to consider the national interests of Afghanistan and avoid giving a chance to anti-government armed militants to use the tension in their favor and further destabilize the war-torn country.

The group has held meetings with United Nations officials in Mazar-e-Sharif City in Balkh. 

“The group consists of two teams: a team of 15 people and another team of 30 members. The first team consists of experts, university lecturers and lawyers who are working to end the tension through dialogue,” said Sayed Abdul Jabbar Jamal, member of the group. 

“Our main recommendation is that the two sides must not use any words that results in violence,” said Hayatullah Jawad, a member of the group. 

“We hope that we will not be disappointed,” said Ibrahim, a tribal elder. 

Government and Jamiat delegations have held seven rounds of talks so far. The results of the talks are not clear as yet. 

Atta Mohammad Noor was fired from his post as Balkh governor in December. He has rejected the decision and holds daily sessions with hundreds of people who announce their support to Noor. 

Noor is also the CEO of Jamiat-e-Islami Party.