Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Sibaghatullah Ahmadi showed up for work today at his usual government office, which is significant because he was fired yesterday by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.  

Following a public row between Sediq Seddiqi, the presidential spokesman, and Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Sibaghatullah Ahmadi, President Ghani on Sunday fired Ahmadi and replaced him with the former ambassador to Turkmenistan, Mirwais Nab.

But late Sunday night Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah made a statement countermanding Ghani’s dismissal of Ahmadi.

Abdullah stated that Spokesperson Ahmadi will continue in his role until after the election results have been announced.

The argument was over the propriety of the Taliban delegation to Pakistan. On Thursday Ahmadi publicly supported Pakistan’s hosting of the Taliban because it was in the interest of peace, while Ghani’s spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi condemned the meeting as inappropriate, saying that welcoming terrorists--whose only agenda is war--violates diplomatic norms.

“The dismissal or appointment of a spokesman is the authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; it looks very strange when a president dismisses a spokesman,” said former diplomat Ahmad Saeedi.

“It’s unfortunate that the ARG (presidential palace) moves in one direction and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs moves in the other,” said MP Munwar Shah Bahaduri.