This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8437677.stm
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Karzai cabinet nominees rejected | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The Afghan parliament has turned down 17 out of President Hamid Karzai's 24 nominees for his new cabinet. | |
| Energy portfolio nominee Ismail Khan, a former warlord, was among the rejected. | Energy portfolio nominee Ismail Khan, a former warlord, was among the rejected. |
| Justice, commerce, economy, health and women's affairs were among other briefs left empty, but Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was approved. | |
| Mr Karzai has been under pressure from Western allies to name a cabinet committed to tackling corruption, after his controversial re-election. | Mr Karzai has been under pressure from Western allies to name a cabinet committed to tackling corruption, after his controversial re-election. |
| Women's Affairs Minister Husn Bano Ghazanfar - the only female in the cabinet - also failed to win approval in Saturday's secret ballot of more than 200 MPs. | |
| "Of the 24 nominees introduced to parliament, seven have succeeded in getting your vote of confidence," parliamentary speaker Mohammad Yunus Qanoni said, after the counting had finished, reports AFP news agency. | |
| The vote is one of the few occasions when parliamentarians have genuine power to hold the executive to account, say analysts. | |
| Among the most well-known names to be rejected was Mr Khan, a Soviet-era guerrilla leader and anti-Taliban commander who was also energy minister in the last cabinet. | Among the most well-known names to be rejected was Mr Khan, a Soviet-era guerrilla leader and anti-Taliban commander who was also energy minister in the last cabinet. |
| He is unpopular with some because of his role as a warlord in western Herat province during Afghanistan's civil war. | He is unpopular with some because of his role as a warlord in western Herat province during Afghanistan's civil war. |
| No-one has been nominated foreign minister so far and the post is not expected to be filled until a conference on Afghanistan in London later this month. | No-one has been nominated foreign minister so far and the post is not expected to be filled until a conference on Afghanistan in London later this month. |
| Mr Karzai presented his new cabinet to parliament two weeks ago. | Mr Karzai presented his new cabinet to parliament two weeks ago. |
| He was returned for a second five-year term after last August's election, despite investigators discovering more than a quarter of votes were fraudulent. | He was returned for a second five-year term after last August's election, despite investigators discovering more than a quarter of votes were fraudulent. |