In his Nawroz speech at the Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif on Wednesday, ousted Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor said he had almost reached a final agreement with the Presidential Palace over the discord between the two and that an announcement would be made soon. 

He said that a number of issues had been resolved and that a few that an agreement over the remaining few would be reached soon. 

This comes after President Ashraf Ghani accepted Noor’s resignation in December last year. However, Noor said the letter was outdated and he refused to step down until a list of demands by Jamiat-e-Islami Party of Afghanistan were met. 

Delegations from both sides have held ongoing talks to resolve the issue.

Noor indicated on Wednesday however that a breakthrough could be imminent. 

According to him, he has recommended three people for the governor's position. He said they were all as capable as him and that any one of them would do well in the position and would serve the people of Afghanistan.

He thanked the people, MPs, religious scholars, Ulemas, teachers, civil society and influential people for their support.  

“After the tensions emerged between the Jamiat party and the National Unity Government, attempts were made to resolve this problem, and after several rounds of negotiations, the demands of the Jamiat party were discussed and, in most cases, an agreement was reached,” he said.

“Soon NUG and Jamiat-e-Islami party agreement will be announced and based on the schedule we will go forward for the coming elections,” Noor said.