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Daily Afghan Report


		[ 13 January 2006 ] Afghan Speaker Promises Accountability For Cabinet Members The speaker of the recently inaugurated Afghan National Assembly's People's Council, Mohammad Yunos Qanuni, said on 11 January that the parliament is satisfied with the performance of some of President Hamid Karzai's cabinet ministers but warned that others will be made accountable for their activities, Kabul-based Tolu Television reported. "The parliament can decide about [the appointment of ministers to] the cabinet," Qanuni added. Qanuni said the lower house should be expected to take "decisions in the interest of the people of Afghanistan" while taking into "consideration the current realities in the country." After his election to the presidency in October 2004, Karzai appointed his cabinet in the absence of a national parliament, but his choices are due to face a parliamentary confidence vote in February in what could represent the legislature's first challenge to Karzai's previous monopoly on power. AT Afghan Deputy Minister Signals Crackdown On Official Involvement In Drug Trade General Mohammad Daud, the deputy interior minister in charge of counternarcotics efforts, said in an interview with Sheberghan-based Aina TV on 11 January that government officials suspected of involvement in the illicit drug trade will face justice. Acknowledging that a "number of government officials are involved in drug cultivation," Daud said that a "new group" has been formed comprising representatives of his ministry and the Defense Ministry, the National Security Directorate, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and the U.S.-led coalition forces in order "to take the necessary steps" to combat illegal drugs. Recent reports have suggested involvement by Afghan government officials, including security personnel, in the trade. AT Bulgaria To Send Forces To Afghanistan Bulgarian forces will perform their first peacekeeping mission as part of ISAF in Afghanistan, a Bulgarian Defense Ministry press release indicated on 12 January, according to BTA news agency. The Bulgarian brigade will operate in Kabul and its adjoining areas, and the first of the troops are expected to depart for Afghanistan in mid-January. AT archive homepage

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