Iraq's Premier finalizes proposed Cabinet List
Pakistan Times Monitoring Desk

BAGHDAD (Iraq): Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim Jaafari handed President Jalal Talabani his proposed cabinet list Tuesday, state television reported, after nearly three months of protracted consultations which tested Washington’s patience.

Jaafari also unveiled the list before a restricted meeting of his winning United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), said Iraqiya TV. But it was not immediately known when the Parliament would be asked to approve it.

A senior member of the Shia-dominated alliance, Jawad Maliki, said “the government will be announced tonight, but no names will immediately be made public”. “There are still problems in deciding who will hold the oil and interior ministries,” he cautioned.

Iraqiya television says, Sadoun Dulaimi, a Sunni, was named as defence minister.

Politicians had previously said the defence portfolio would go to a Sunni in an attempt to reach out to those who boycotted the January 30 election.

In addition, Jaafari has named three deputy premiers in an attempt to spread power among the country’s ethnic groups.

Roj Nuri Shaways, a Kurd, former Pentagon favourite Ahmed Chalabi, and Sunni MP Saad al-Lehebi were all named as deputy premiers, Iraqiya reported.

Jaafari’s List

Jaafari’s list includes several outgoing ministers remaining in their posts, including Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, as foreign minister and Nasreen Mustafa Barwari as minister of public works.

In addition, Sami al-Majoun was named minister of justice and Ali Abdul Amir Allawi minister of finance, according to a partial list provided by the television.

Supporters of outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular pro-Western Shia, were not expected to participate in the new government after Jaafari rejected their terms.

Sunni Members

Three Sunni members of the UIA said Tuesday they were withdrawing from the list, which holds 146 seats in the 275-member parliament, for being too ‘sectarian’, Mudher Shawket, one of the three, said.

The majority Shias were expected to hold 17 cabinet seats. The Kurds, who have 77 MPs, were expected to get eight, and the Sunni Arabs six.

Sunnis dominated Saddam Hussein’s regime and all previous Iraqi governments but won just 17 seats in parliament after largely boycotting the January 30 election.

The Christian and Turkmen minorities were expected to get one ministry each.

The news of the cabinet list being handed to Talabani came after Washington expressed fear that the continuing deadlock was squandering the political momentum toward democracy created by the successful election.

Execution deadline for Romanian Hostages

Meanwhile a report from Bucharest says that the kidnappers of three Romanian journalists held in Iraq on Tuesday set a new ultimatum for their execution, hours after the employer of two of the hostages announced they were still alive.

The kidnappers have given Bucharest until 13:00 GMT today, Wednesday to announce the withdrawal of its 860 troops from Iraq in order to save the journalists' lives, an Arabic television reported.

The news channel said it had a video showing the hostages with their hands tied, and setting the new deadline for Bucharest. An earlier ultimatum expired Tuesday.●