By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan
A dual-nationality debate preventing the formation of a new Afghan cabinet finally eased slightly on Tuesday, when two nominated ministers were given the green light to present their plans to parliament after they relinquished their foreign nationalities.
The nominees for the important Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior, Salahuddin Rabbani and Noorul Haq Ulomi, relinquished their respective British and Dutch citizenship because the Afghan constitution does not allow dual-nationals to hold ministerial posts.
There is a provision for the parliament, known as the Wolesi Jirga, to endorse ministerial nominations regardless of their dual-nationality but the majority of parliament appears unwilling to exercise this option.
Eleven of 25 ministers and the central bank governor nominated by President Ashraf Ghani hold foreign citizenships.
The central bank nominee Khalil Siddique was barred from speaking to the house last week while another designated minister, Ghulam Jilani Popal turned down his nomination for the Ministry of Finance.
Dual national is relatively common in Afghanistan, where decades of conflict forced a brain drain that is slowly reversing amid hops for the country's peaceful reconstruction.
It took Ghani and his power-sharing partner Abdullah Abdullah more than 100 days to settle disagreements and nominate a cabinet, which they finally did in early January.
