Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a surprise move on Saturday replaced five ministers with old faces of the cabinet, Mohammad Asif Nang, the spokesman of ministry for parliamentary affairs said.
"The incumbent education minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar would replace Zarar Ahmad Muqbal, the serving minister for interior, andMuqbal would take over the affairs of the ministry for refugees and repatriation affairs," Nang told Xinhua.
The spokesperson said Farooq Wardak, the minister for parliamentary affairs, would be replaced by Kandahar province's former governor Assadullah Khalid, and Mr. Wardak would assume the office of education ministry.
He also added that Abidullah Ramin, the minister for agriculture, would be replaced by Asif Rahimi.
All the new appointees except Assadullah Khalid and Mohammad Sadiq Mudabir, Nang added, would be sent to Wolesi Jirga or the Lower House of parliament for a vote of confidence on Sunday.
The reshuffle in the cabinet took place just days after the beginning of voter registration for the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 2009. Source: Xinhua
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