Arrest warrants for 2 Afghan ministers

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Two ministers in the Cabinet of Afghan President Hamid Karzai face arrest warrants on corruption charges, sources told The Times of London.

A prosecution source told the newspaper the warrants were presented to Karzai, who is required by law to suspend immunity for the accused before issuing the warrant.

The warrants pointed to the level of corruption in the government of Karzai, who promised during his inaugural address last week he would fight corruption in Kabul. Whether and when the ministers are prosecuted would be seen as an early test of Karzai's commitment to crack down on corruption, the report said.

Karzai is expected to appoint his new cabinet and provincial governors in the next few weeks, another move that will be closely watched by the international community to find out if he appoints people based on merit.