Afghan President's New Cabinet Picks Include Controversial Figure

[tekisui]

Source: LA Times

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai snubbed two prominent warlord figures in a new Cabinet lineup unveiled today but unexpectedly offered a ministerial spot to the leader of a party linked to a Pakistan-based insurgent commander.

The list of 16 Cabinet nominees also included three women, one of them a prominent activist chosen as minister of women's affairs. Karzai had been sharply criticized when a previous lineup included only one woman.

This month, Parliament rejected 17 of the 23 prospective ministers that Karzai had put forth, including former militia commander Ismail Khan and three nominees associated with another former commander, Rashid Dostum.

more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghan-cabinet10-2010jan10,0,2251304.story