Kabul, December 10

The head of Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency resigned today, laying bare disagreements with President Ashraf Ghani over his diplomatic outreach to Pakistan aimed at reviving peace talks with the resurgent Taliban.

The resignation of Rahmatullah Nabil comes as Afghanistan grapples with string of major Taliban attacks, including a 27-hour siege of Kandahar airport this week which killed at least 50 people.

In his resignation letter, Nabil citied “a lack of agreement on policy matters” and restrictions imposed by the president which he alleged had hindered his ability to do his job.

The development comes a day after Nabil posted a scathing Facebook post criticising Ghani’s high-profile visit to Pakistan, the Taliban’s historic backer, yesterday for a regional conference.

“Our innocent countrymen were being martyred and beheaded in Kandahar airfield... at the moment when (Pakistan) Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif once again called Afghanistan as Pakistan’s enemy,” he wrote. The office of the president was not immediately reachable for comment.