Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday evening announced the much-awaited new cabinet line-up, replacing some of the influential warlords in the interim government with new faces.

Defense Minster Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who helped the US army topple the former Taliban regime in 2001, was replaced by his deputy, the US-educated General Abdul Rahim Wardak, according to a decree by Karzai that was announced on Afghan state television.

Fahim, the military leader of the former Northern Alliance, was also removed from the post of vice president ahead of the country's first direct presidential elections held on October 9.

Anwarul Haq Ahadi, the former governor of the country's central bank was appointed as minister for finance.

Ali Ahmad Jalali keeps his post as interior minister in the new cabinet. Herat's former governor, Ismael Khan, was named as minister for energy and water.

Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, the former education minister and Karzai's main rival in the presidential poll, has been excluded from the new government.

Hadullah Qadiri, a less known politician, was appointed as the head of the newly established Ministry of Counter-narcotics.

Karzai, who was sworn in as the first popularly elected president of the post-war Afghanistan on December 7, has repeatedly promised to act under the constitution in selecting his cabinet ministers as the constitution requires a minister to have university degree and Afghan nationality.

It is widely believed that row between former resistance leaders and those West-educated technocrats has caused Karzai to delay his appointment of the cabinet.

Karzai downsizes ministries in new government

Karzai has trimmed the number of ministries from 29 to 26 in his new cabinet in a bid to make it more efficient.

In a decree read out by the government's Chief Secretary Mohammad Yusuf Aitebar on the state-run television Thursday evening, the president appointed 26 in-service and new ministers in the cabinet.

The following is a list of new ministers:

Commerce Minister Mohammad Amin Arsala;

Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah;

Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak;

Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali;

Education Minister Noor Mohammad Qarqin;

Finance Minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi;

Minister for Economy Mir Mohammad Amin Farhang;

Minister for Energy and Water General Mohammad Ismail;

Minister for Transport Anayatullah Qasimi;

Telecommunication Minister Amirzai Sangin;

Minister for Mines and Industries Mir Mohammad Sidiq;

Minister for Public Works Sohrab Ali Safari;

Minister for Housing Mohammad Yusuf Pashtun;

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Livestock Abdullah Ramin;

Minister for Justice Sarwar Danish;

Minister for Higher Education Syed Amin Shah Hasanyar;

Minister for Culture and Information Syed Makhdom Rahin;

Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs Nematullah Shahrani;

Minister for Public Health Syed Mohammad Amin Fatimi;

Minister for Tribes and Frontiers Abdul Karim Barawi;

Minister for Women Affairs Mrs. Masouda Jalalal;

Minister for Work and Manpower Syed Akramudin Masumi;

Minister for Refugees Azam Dadfar;

Minister for Disabled and Martyrs Mrs. Sidiqa Balkhi;

Minister for Rural Rehabilitation and Development Mohammad Hanif Atmar;

Minister for Counter-narcotics Habibullah Qadiri.

Karzai in his decree also appointed Zalmay Rasoul as advisor to national security affairs.

Interior Minister Jalali and Foreign Minister Abdullah are among those important figures of the former transitional administration who retained their posts in the new cabinet.

In the new cabinet, the ministries for tourism and aviation, reconstruction and planning were merged with other ministries while the new Ministry of Counter-narcotics was added to the cabinet.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2004)