KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai unveiled Saturday, December 19, a long-awaited cabinet lineup that seeks to appease his Western allies demanding an honest government and warlords seeking political paybacks.
"The president has listened to the Afghan people, to different political parties, to the international community," Presidency Spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
"He has made a decision based on all those consultations."
Karzai presented a list of 23 ministers to the parliament, with the candidates of the foreign affairs and urban development portfolios still unnamed.
The new lineup features 11 current ministers, including the finance and interior ministers.
All three security offices, including the head of the intelligence agency, are also unchanged.
The lineup also features 12 new ministers in addition to a female minister for the women’s affairs portfolio.
The parliament will debate the cabinet lineup in the coming days before approval.
Karzai's lineup is seen as the first test of his commitment to building a clean and accountable government.
The Afghan leader, installed after the 2001 US invasion, has been under fire over the rampant corruption in the central Asian country.
Karzai was sworn into power for a second five-year term a month ago following a controversial election steeped in fraud.
Appeasing
Karzai's lineup reflects his effort to appease both Western allies and local warlords who helped him win re-election.
"Karzai has been under two sorts of pressure forming this cabinet, in fact two sorts of opposition -- domestic and foreign," Political analyst Waheed Mujda told AFP.
In his lineup, Karzai was keen to keep all the West-liked figures and to increase the number of technocrats as demanded by his western allies.
But he was also keen to appease the West-criticized, corruption-tainted warlords who supported his election campaign.
Warlord Ismail Khan has been nominated energy minister, a powerful post seen as a reward for delivering substantial votes in the August ballot.
A list released to AFP featured a second warlord, Gul Agha Shairzai for the development portfolio, but he did not appear on the list read to parliament Saturday.
Karzai also nominated Commerce Minister Wahidullah Shahrani to the mines portfolio, a sector with the potential to earn Afghanistan significant revenues in the future.
In his current post, Shahrani adopted a vigorous privatization campaign and doggedly rooted out corruption.
Analysts believe that the nomination of warlords and corruption-tainted politicians in the new cabinet does not augur well.
"We do not see new figures or faces in this cabinet to give us any expectation for a major change for the country's future," Mujda said.
"The president has listened to the Afghan people, to different political parties, to the international community," Presidency Spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
"He has made a decision based on all those consultations."
Karzai presented a list of 23 ministers to the parliament, with the candidates of the foreign affairs and urban development portfolios still unnamed.
The new lineup features 11 current ministers, including the finance and interior ministers.
All three security offices, including the head of the intelligence agency, are also unchanged.
The lineup also features 12 new ministers in addition to a female minister for the women’s affairs portfolio.
The parliament will debate the cabinet lineup in the coming days before approval.
Karzai's lineup is seen as the first test of his commitment to building a clean and accountable government.
The Afghan leader, installed after the 2001 US invasion, has been under fire over the rampant corruption in the central Asian country.
Karzai was sworn into power for a second five-year term a month ago following a controversial election steeped in fraud.
Appeasing
Karzai's lineup reflects his effort to appease both Western allies and local warlords who helped him win re-election.
"Karzai has been under two sorts of pressure forming this cabinet, in fact two sorts of opposition -- domestic and foreign," Political analyst Waheed Mujda told AFP.
In his lineup, Karzai was keen to keep all the West-liked figures and to increase the number of technocrats as demanded by his western allies.
But he was also keen to appease the West-criticized, corruption-tainted warlords who supported his election campaign.
Warlord Ismail Khan has been nominated energy minister, a powerful post seen as a reward for delivering substantial votes in the August ballot.
A list released to AFP featured a second warlord, Gul Agha Shairzai for the development portfolio, but he did not appear on the list read to parliament Saturday.
Karzai also nominated Commerce Minister Wahidullah Shahrani to the mines portfolio, a sector with the potential to earn Afghanistan significant revenues in the future.
In his current post, Shahrani adopted a vigorous privatization campaign and doggedly rooted out corruption.
Analysts believe that the nomination of warlords and corruption-tainted politicians in the new cabinet does not augur well.
"We do not see new figures or faces in this cabinet to give us any expectation for a major change for the country's future," Mujda said.
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