Afghanistan - government line-up

Karzai delays unveiling of new cabinet

Article published on the 2009-12-08 Latest update 2009-12-08 07:41 TU

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
(Photo: Reuters)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in for a second term three weeks ago, has postponed the unveiling of his long-awaited cabinet. Meanwhile US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who is in Kabul for talks about Washington's new war strategy, stepped up calls for an efficient government.

After elections marred by massive fraud, Karzai is under huge domestic and foreign pressure to form a transparent government to end the eight-year Taliban insurgency.

Karzai said on Tuesday he intended to introduce a number of new cabinet members to parliament, but a spokesman for the lower house said the move had been delayed until Saturday at the earliest.

Parliament must pass a vote of confidence before the new Afghan cabinet can start work, and analysts hope the new line-up can finally crack on with the business of government, and stamping out corruption, after months of political paralysis.

The delay comes after some MPs opposed presentation of the cabinet in groups, preferring the entire line-up to be finalised first.

In Afghanistan, Gates emphasised "the importance for us of capable, honest ministers in areas that are critical for our success, such as defence and interior".

He said both the current Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Interior Minister Hanif Atmar "are very capable people".

Britain announced on Tuesday that its Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth, had arrived in the southern Helmand province on a surprise visit. He is due to meet British troops and Afghan officials. 

In a possible sign of a future campaign against graft, an Afghan court on Monday sentenced the mayor of Kabul to four years in prison on corruption charges in the first high-profile corruption conviction since the election.

But Karzai faces a challenge in satisfying those who supported him in the elections with government jobs and keeping his Western allies happy.

He has already inaugurated Mohammad Qasim Fahim, a former anti-Soviet resistance leader implicated in abuses, including murder, weapons smuggling and narcotics activities, as his first vice president.