KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai will retain technocrats in key ministries when he unveils a new Cabinet, parliamentary sources said Friday, a move likely to appease Western backers who want him to clamp down on corruption.
A list obtained by Reuters showed almost half of the ministers will be replaced or reshuffled, but for the most part they will not be the Cabinet’s key figures.
Karzai, due to announce his new government on Saturday, has faced intense pressure from the West to appoint honest technocrats after being re-elected in an Aug. 20 election marred by widespread fraud.
The foreign, interior and finance ministers will keep their jobs, according to the list obtained by Reuters and as had been expected. All are widely considered to be technocrats and liked by Washington. Defense Minister Abdulrahim Wardak, who NATO-led forces have often said is a good partner, will also stay, the list from parliamentary sources said.
But Washington and its allies may be disappointed to see Ismael Khan, a once powerful guerrilla leader seen by critics as a warlord and throwback to Afghanistan’s violent Mujahedeen war, keeping his energy post.
The United States is sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to try and turn the tide on the insurgency, which has killed record numbers of foreign troops so far this year.
Western leaders need Karzai to act against corruption in the government and impose reforms as domestic support for their military involvement in Afghanistan worsens.
