Lawmakers in the Lower House of Parliament of Afghanistan on Wednesday decided to impeach the chief of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) Mohammad Masoum Stanikzai on next Wednesday over a number of issues.

Speaker of the House Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said the decision was made after 48 lawmakers signed a petition for Mr. Stanikzai�s impeachment.

Mr. Ibrahimi added that the impeachment of NDS Chief has been included in the agenda for the next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a number of lawmakers criticized the decision to impeach Mr. Stanikzai.

Munawar Shah Bahaduri, Member of Parliament representing Herat province said that 12 lawmakers were against the impeachment of Mr. Stanikzai, but their votes were not counted.

"If the NDS Chief was called for an impeachment we will leave the House because personnel issues are the main motive behind the decision," said an MP from Nangarhar, Saima Khogyani.

However, First Deputy Speaker of the House Humayoun Humayoun told Ariana News that Mr. Stanikzai has been impeached over the spike in military casualties, the politicization of security institutions and for provoking ethnic issues.

"The petition was signed due to the specific reasons including the politicization of security institutions, high casualties of intelligence personnel by assassinations and provoking ethnic and linguistic issues," Mr. Humayoun said.

About 10 Days ago, MPs summoned Mr. Stanikzai to answer questions over security concerns but the session with NDS Chief was held behind closed doors.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/9884

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