Karzai delays Afghan cabinet until 'next week': parliament

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in for a new term in office three weeks ago, has postponed the unveiling of his long-awaited new cabinet, a parliament spokesman said on Tuesday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in for a new term in office three weeks ago, has postponed the unveiling of his long-awaited new cabinet, a parliament spokesman said on Tuesday.

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Re-elected following a controversial August election marred by massive fraud, the head of state is under huge domestic and foreign pressure to form a transparent government to help end an eight-year Taliban insurgency.

His spokesman Siamak Herawai had said Karzai intended to introduce a number of his new cabinet members to parliament on Tuesday, but a spokesman for the lower house said the move had been delayed until Saturday at the earliest.

"They notified the parliament on Monday about the delay. It will not happen until next week," spokesman Haseeb Noori told AFP. The working week in Muslim Afghanistan begins on Saturday.