Atta Mohammad Noor, a powerful governor in northern Afghanistan, visited a local amusement park last week and grabbed a video arcade gun. Firing on fictional aliens made a break from the frequent target of his ire: the government in Kabul. Noor, a former general hardened in wars against the Soviets and Taliban but now suited and affluent, complains of a lack of leadership by President Ashraf Ghani and is angry his warnings of rising militant violence in the north were not heeded. "They told me that they will take action, but unfortunately they didn't," the governor of Balkh province told Reuters, recalling a warning he gave Kabul several months ago to prepare for more Taliban violence in the north. The dissatisfaction is one of Ghani's main challenges; he must contain the Taliban, rally various strongmen behind a single cause and bridge differences with his partner in power, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. Noor has emerged as one of the government's biggest critics. He questions how the armed forces are being run, the handling of peace talks with the Taliban and Ghani's relationship with Abdullah. Ghani and Abdullah fought bitterly over the outcome of last year's presidential election which they contested, and despite forming a unity government, mutual suspicion has slowed policy decisions, diplomats and analysts say. Noor, 51, said neither the president nor the CEO had done much to solve the country's problems. "Whatever they do is a show," Noor said in the interview at his palatial party offices in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh. "Instead, they should work honestly." Noor strongly backed Abdullah in the election, at one point threatening civil unrest over the outcome. Ultimately Ghani was deemed the winner, and Noor has distanced himself from the rivalry. Asked what he thought was the government's most significant achievement so far, he chuckled. "I cannot remember any successes at the moment."
