Karzai appoints Mujaddedi, Fahim to Afghan Upper House

Source

Staff Report

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday decreed the appointment of 34 people, already cleared by the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), to the Meshrano Jirga (upper house of parliament).

Prominent among the 34 nominees are former interim president Sibghatullah Mujaddedi, Karzai’s former defence minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim, present cabinet minister Siddiqa Balkhi and two sitting governors Sher Mohammad, Akhunzada (Helmand) and Abdul Kabir Marzban (Takhar).

Former premier and one-time Gulbadin Hekmatyar-loyalist Ustad Abdul Saboor Farid and Taliban deputy minister Arsalan Rahmani are also among the appointees. The two governors and the minister for the disabled and martyrs, appointed to the upper house, will have to quit their present offices. JEMB’s deputy chief Mohammad Ayub Asil said they had returned the list of the nominees after a thorough scrutiny to the Press Office at the Presidential Palace. Another prominent nominee for the Meshrano Jirga is Syed Hamid Gillani, who was defeated at the September 18 parliamentary polls. Hamid Gillani is the son of Pir Syed Ahmad Gillani, head of the Mahaz-i-Milli – a conglomerate of jihadi outfits.

Also nominated for the upper house by Karzai is Ahmad Shah Ramazan from the northern Balkh province. He is the brother of successful parliamentary candidate Ashraf Ramazan, who was gunned down by unidentified assailants just before the official announcement of the results. Ramazan’s supporters had staged several noisy demonstrations to press the government for the appointment of his brother to the upper house.

Invoking Article 84 of the Afghan Constitution, the president also decreed the appointment of Haji Nazar Mohammad and Balqis from the Kochi nomadic tribe to the senate. Abdul Baqi Baryal and Haji Nafisa have been appointed as representatives of the disabled and martyrs. Gangaram will represent the Hindu and Sikh minority in the upper house.

Other nominees are Mahbooba Haquqmal, a teacher of political sciences who was also a delegate at the emergency Loya Jirga, and Qamar Khosti from the southeastern Khost province, Roshan from the eastern Kunar province, Musalima Hussaini, Tayyeba Zahidi, Humaira Naimati, Reda Azimi, Najiba Hussaini, Sara Surkhabi, Alia Qarizada, Khadija Hussaini, Kubra Aman, Sohaila Sharifi, Najiba, Haji Mohammad Esa Khan Shinwari, Al-Haj Suleman Yari, Mohammad Hasan Hotak, Prof Abdul Baqi, Qurban Ali Irfani and Haji Tordia Khan.

Thirty-four permanent members have already been elected under electoral law by as many provincial councils to the 102-seat Meshrano Jirga. The 34 members, who had earlier made their way to the upper house for the interim period, will cease to be its members after the holding of district council elections, delayed for technical reasons.