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Afghan Cabinet Nominees Approved After Months-Long Deadlock


The successful nominees include Wais Ahmad Barmak (pictured) who has been appointed Interior Minister. (file photo)
The successful nominees include Wais Ahmad Barmak (pictured) who has been appointed Interior Minister. (file photo)

Afghanistan's parliament has approved 11 nominees for ministerial positions after months of deadlock.

More than half of the cabinet's 25 ministries have remained vacant for months.

"Of 12 nominees that the government presented to us, 11 were approved and became ministers," said parliament chairman Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi.

He added that the only woman in the group nominated for the post of minister of mines was rejected.

"We congratulate the approved ministers," he added.

The successful nominees, some of whom have already worked as acting ministers, include Wais Ahmad Barmak for the Interior Ministry and Tariq Shah Bahrami for the Defense Ministry, two key institutions in the ever intensifying Afghan war.

Many of the posts have been left unoccupied after the ministers were fired by parliament for offenses like incompetence or failure to manage their budgets.

The endorsements come as Taliban militants have intensified their attacks, while the national unity government continues to be sapped by infighting between rivals.

Political bickering between factions loyal to President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have also seen officials abandon the government in droves.

With reporting by dpa and AFP

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