Afghan president has agreed to unseat his two top security officials however said they would remain until he found replacementsAfghanistan faces a period of damaging uncertainty after President Hamid Karzai bowed to parliament’s surprise choice to unseat his two top security officials, however said they would stay in their jobs indefinitely while he looked for replacements.The coming shakeup at the defence and interior ministries has the potential to complicate the ongoing handover of security from Nato to Afghan forces, unbalance a cabinet stacked with powerful rivals, and stir up western fears about loss of influence.Western officials have extended argued Afghanistan needs to go away from the politics of personality, and strengthen its institutions. However while that action is still going on, diplomats warn the nation may struggle to replace the men who have been in charge of building up the army and police for distinct years.”Afghan Parliament ballot of no confidence in Ministers of Defence & Interior … could have significant consequences for transition,” the head of the UK’s civilian mission in Helmand province, Catriona Laing, warned on Twitter.Karzai gave no date for proposing fresh candidates, raising the possibility that the men could linger in the posts for distinct months. The president has thumbed his nose at parliament before by naming ministers rejected by MPs as “acting” officials, in some cases for well over a year.However he also virtually promised fresh jobs to defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and interior minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. His statement said he would inquiry the two former mujahideen commanders “to serve their nation and their nation in other capacities within their administration”.In the condition of Mohammadi, the president may have small choice; a powerful politician with a strong powerbase in northern Afghanistan, he is unlikely to accept his dismissal unless he gets another excellent portfolio.”The difficulty is BK,” said one western diplomat, using a common shorthand for the outgoing interior minister. “He is also huge for the president, with a solid constituency.”The ballot of no confidence was widely seen as an attempt by parliamentarians to flex their political muscles in the face of a president who has often been inclined to ignore them. There was some applause for their attempt to hold the administration to account over corruption and nepotism.However the dramatic ballot may hurt their credibility in the extended run, as concerns mount about the wisdom of dismissing the heads of the police and army while the nation is at war, with small warning and after just a hardly any hours of questioning on disparate issues.AfghanistanHamid KarzaiEmma Graham-Harrisonguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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