Afghan President Ghani Rejects Resignation of Top Officials - Reports

Four top security officials in Afghanistan's government resigned on Saturday, sources in the country's government said. Afghan President has later rejected the resignations of three of them.

Afghanistan's minister of defense, minister of interior as well as two other high-ranking security officials have resigned from their posts, Reuters reported quoting sources in the government.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected the resignation of Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak and the National Directorate of Security chief, Masoom Stanekzai, local media reported on Sunday.

Ghani had ordered the officials to continue their work, the Pajhwok news agency reported.

An official in Afghanistan presidential office was quoted as saying that they had received four resignations by two ministers and two senior security officials.

The resignations of Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, Interior Minister Wais Barmak and the head of the National Directorate of Security Masoom Stanekzai came after National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar also quit his post.

Later, TOLO News reported quoting the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office that the president had rejected the resignations of Wais Ahmad Barmak, Masoum Stanikzai, and Tariq Shah Bahrami, asking them to continue their work.

The security officials referred to the security situation as the main reason for their resignation, the sources reported.

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Afghanistan has been in a state of long-standing armed conflict between the government and a number of terrorist groups, which carry out attacks all over the war-torn country.