Afghan ministerial nominees presented to parliament for approval

Kabul - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's long-awaited cabinet line-up was presented to the country's parliament for approval with no changes in key current ministerial posts. Current Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar and Finance Minister Hazarat Omar Zakhelwal, who are all favored by the West, were among the 23 nominees presented to legislators for approval.

Ten ministers were selected to stay in their posts while four would change ministries and nine would be new to the cabinet.

The nominees were presented to the Wolsi Jirga, or lower house of the parliament, by first vice president, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim.

Fahim told the gathering that based on "good performances," some of the current ministers were designated for the new cabinet, adding that the new faces were selected by the president after wide-ranging consultation and based on their "high qualification."

No nominees were introduced to parliament for the Foreign Affairs and Construction ministries.