Afghan president moves acting defence minister to head spy agency


Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani speaks during his visit at the joint National assembly gathering in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has appointed a new acting defence minister to replace Masoom Stanekzai, a loyalist ally whom he has shifted to lead the main intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

The changes, announced late on Thursday, underline the uncertainty at the top of Afghanistan's security apparatus that has hindered the fight against the Taliban and other insurgents since Ghani's National Unity Government came to power in 2014.

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