Afghan president nominates new cabinet

Ashraf Ghani nominates 25 ministers after three months of attempting to establish a working government.

Afghan president and his rival-turned partner spent months of dispute over new cabinet formation [Getty Images]

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has nominated ministers for his new cabinet after three months of attempting to establish a working government to tackle the violence-wracked country’s problems.

Abdul Salam Rahimi, Ghani’s chief of staff, announced the 25 cabinet nominees at an event attended by Ghani in the presidential palace in Kabul on Monday.

The list will now go before the parliament for approval.

Salahuddin Rabbani, the former head of the country’s high peace council, is nominated for foreign minister, Sher Mohammad Karimi, the military chief of staff, is nominated for defence minister and a former general Noor-ur-Haq Ulomi is nominated for interior minister.

The president and his election rival-turned-government partner Abdullah Abdullah have spent months wrangling over the makeup of the new cabinet, raising worries over whether their unity government could survive, let alone govern effectively.

Source: News Agencies