Afghan president presents 16 more cabinet nominees

KABUL, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai presented the names of 16 ministerial nominees to Wolesi Jirga, or the Lower House of parliament, for approval on Saturday.

An Afghan parliament member votes on the cabinet in Kabul, January 2, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo)

The names of nominees read out by second Vice President Mohammad Karim Khalili include three ladies and 13 gents with majority of them new faces.

Two more nominees for the Ministry of Communication and the Ministry for Water and Power would be presented possibly on Sunday, Khalili promised to the house.

Karzai in December presented 24 cabinet nominees to the parliament for approval but left the post of foreign minister unfilled.

The lower house in an unexpected decision rejected 17 of them, asking the president to introduce new faces.

Three female nominees were presented on the new list.

Suraya Dalil has been nominated for the post of Ministry for Public Health, Amina Afzali nominated for the ministry for Work, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled people and Palwasha Hasan for the post of Minister for Women Affairs.

The president in the new list nominated his advisor for national security affairs Zalmai Rasoul to replace Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta.

Process of voting, according to speaker of the house Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, would be completed by Thursday. President Hamid Karzai is trying to form the new cabinet ahead of attending the international conference on Afghanistan to be held in London late this month.