The consultations in the Afghan parliament on Saturday, Jan 16, resulted in the approval of 7 other candidates for the ministries, raising the number to a total of 14 approved candidates.
The consultations in the Afghan parliament on Saturday, Jan 16, resulted in the approval of 7 other candidates for the ministries, raising the number to a total of 14 approved candidates, including President Karzai’s longtime national security adviser Mr. Zalmay Rasool as the Foreign Minister. In addition to the approval of the Foreign Ministry’s candidate, the Afghan parliament also approved the candidates for the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Work and Social Affairs/ The Martyred and The Disabled.
The initial set of nominees was presented to the parliament on Jan 2, where 7 out of total 25 cabinet candidates were approved. After the first round of confirmation by the Afghan parliament, President Karzai ordered the parliament to postpone its 45-day winter recess until a new Cabinet could be approved. It resulted in a second round of consultations on Jan 16 with the approval of additional 7 candidates.
List of approved nominees for Cabinet posts:
Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, Minister of Defence
Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Minister of Interior
Omar Zakhilwal, Minister of Finance
Ghulam Farooq Wardak, Minister of Education
Muhammad Asif Rahimi, Minister of Agriculture
Wahidullah Shahrani, Minister of Mines
Said Makhdoum Rahin, Minister of Information and Cultural affairs
Zalmai Rasool, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Habibullah Ghalib, Minister of Justice
Mohammad Yousuf Neyazi, Minister of Islamic Affairs
Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, Minister of Economy
Jarullah Mansuri, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
Amina Afzali, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Zarar Ahmad Moqbel, Minister of Counter Narcotics
The approved Cabinet, as of now, includes one female minister filling the post at the Ministry of Work and Social Affairs/ The Martyred and The Disabled.
After the latest round of approving ministers on Jan 16, the Afghan Parliament also announced the start of its 45-day recess, despite 11 remaining Cabinet posts to fill.
Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omer, said the president would nominate new candidates for the vacant seats when the lawmakers return. Until then, Karzai would direct Deputy Ministers to run their ministries, said Omer.
The priority for the Afghan parliament, after the Afghan presidential elections and the re-election of President Hamid Karzai, has been to form the new and long-awaited Cabinet.
The detailed biographies of the approved ministers will be published in the next issue of the Afghan Embassy’s Monthly Newsletter.
Print the article