The nomination of the top security figures like, former Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammadi as Minister of Defence, Deputy Minister for the Afghan Public Protection Force Mujtaba Patang as Minister of Interior, the Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs Assadullah Khalid as the country's new intelligence chief at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the former governor of Kabul and 1980s mujahedeen commander, Haji Din Mohammad, to replace Khalid as Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs was announced by the Presidential Palace Officials earlier. Following a week after the nomination announcement by the Presidential Palace, the candidates faced the MPs for confidence vote on Saturday, 15, Sept, 2012.
Bismillah Mohammmadi who had been disqualified from his former position of Interior Minister got 124 confidence votes out of 249 and was appointed as Defense Minister. Assadullah Khalid got 143 confidence votes and was appointed as the NDS chief.
Mr. Patang who had served as the Deputy Minister for the Afghan Public Protection Force got 129 confidence votes and was appointed as the new Minister of Interior. Finally, Din Mohammad who by achieving 117 confidence votes did not qualify for the rank of Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs.
On Saturday, Aug 04, 2012, as a result of failing to maintain the ratio of security within the country and along the border routes, the two top security figures of Karzai's cabinet Bismillah Mohammadi and Abdul Rahim Wardak were summoned by the lawmakers to report the MPs regarding the current security issues.
But due to not getting 50+1 votes of confidence from the lawmakers, they were disqualified and dismissed from their positions. Following the dismissal of the two security figures by the law makers in the house of parliament, President dismissed the third key security figure, Rahmatullah Nabil on Tuesday, August 28, 2012, who had served as the Chief of Afghan National Directorate of Security for two years.
The appointment of the new officials comes at a very crucial time. The country is going through a very conclusive phase of transition and it would require sincere and committed efforts from the high officials. Therefore, newly appointed officials along with others must make utmost efforts to perform their responsibilities with due dedication and leave no stone unturned in this regard. Only such efforts can make the transition period conclusive and support Afghanistan in establishing strong setup.