Afghan President Hamid Karzai will submit at least part of his long-awaited cabinet to parliament within days, amid mounting Western pressure to wipe out corruption, officials said Saturday. Re-elected for a second term following an August election scarred by vote vote-rigging and ballot stuffing, Karzai is under huge domestic and foreign pressure to form a transparent government to help end a Taliban insurgency.
"In consultation with elders, influentials, politicians and Afghan experts the president will introduce the full or partial list of the new cabinet to parliament in the course of this week," said Karzai spokesman Hamid Elmi. Lawmakers were scheduled to break for winter recess on Sunday, but a parliament spokesman said the house had extended "to finish debating and passing the mid-year budget" albeit without mentioning the cabinet.