KABUL, Afghanistan, June 28 (UPI) -- Afghan lawmakers Monday appointed a former commander of the Northern Alliance as the interior minister in a parliamentary vote.
Afghan lawmakers in the lower house of parliament had debates Monday for five new Cabinet ministers. Lawmakers appointed ministers of tribal affair, commerce, transport, higher education and interior.
Afghan leaders during their Monday session approved Bismullah Mohammadi of the Northern Alliance as the new interior minister, al-Jazeera reports. He replaces Hanif Atmar, who resigned in early June following attacks on a peace jirga in Kabul.
Afghan National Director of Security Amrullah Saleh and Atmar handed in their resignations in the aftermath of the attack.
Saleh said he resigned for moral reasons after Karzai refused his explanation for the security breach.
"The president of Afghanistan has lost trust in our capability to protect national events," he said.
Karzai needs to fill seven posts for a full Cabinet, however.
The appointments come as Kabul prepares for parliamentary elections in September. The United Nations expressed concerns over early preparations for the vote as a vetting committee disqualified only 13 of the 2,577 candidates for parliament because of links to illegal armed groups.
