Afghan president's cabinet nominees unveiled

Kabul: The names of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's nominees for cabinet posts were presented to parliament for approval on Saturday.

The list was read to parliament by the minister of parliamentary affairs, Anwar Khan Jigdalik.

Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim told Members of Parliament that the 23 nominees were being presented to parliament for "votes of confidence".

"The nominees include some former ministers who have shown excellence in their positions in their past term in office," Fahim said.

Karzai's cabinet hopefuls include warlords Ismail Khan as energy minister, a powerful post that is likely to be regarded as a reward for delivering a substantial block of ethnic votes to him in the August ballot.