Afghan defense minister nominee drops out after two days

(Reuters) - The Afghan cabinet's latest choice for defense minister dropped out on Wednesday, just two days after being nominated for the job, underlining tensions between the president and rival parties within the national unity government.

Ludin explained that the nomination had caused internal turmoil and he feared it could be divisive.  "I feel that some may use my candidacy as an excuse to create problems for my country, so I am withdrawing," he said in a statement.

The former Soviet-era commander was the second to be nominated for the job after the cabinet rejected the first in January.

The partnership between the President Ashraf Ghani and his former rival, chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, has been showing signs of strain and the defense nominee's reversal is the latest indication of widening division.

Abdullah and Ghani have struggled to form a cabinet and over six months into their government, have only eight ministerial appointments. The delay is demoralizing the country's security forces and stifling the economy as investment and development projects have been left in limbo over the lack of leadership in ministries.  Read More

Afghan defense minister nominee drops out after two days

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