"Dual citizenship will prevent a candidate from devoting himself 100 percent to the pursuit of the interests of just one country," Asefa Shadab, a member of the lower house of the Afghan parliament, told Sputnik Radio.
Afghanistan's new cabinet line-up was unveiled on Monday, months after the swearing-in of President Ashraf Ghani, who vowed in September 2014 to build a unity government together with his once rival and now chief executive officer, Abdullah Abdullah.
Under Afghan laws, ministerial candidates must secure the approval of the president and the lower house of Afghanistan's parliament, known as the House of People. But the domestic press claims that at least six of the contenders are also nationals of Turkey, the United States and other Western countries.
Asefa Shadab stressed that neither she, nor any other member of the lower house would back a candidate with dual citizenship. She cited a criminal case in which a head of the commercial Kabul Bank had fled to a country in which he also had citizenship to avoid trial.
Lawmaker Abdul Sabur Khidmat told Sputnik Radio the parliament had not yet obtained evidence that any of the minister hopefuls were dual citizens. "But if this information is confirmed, none of them will get our vote," Khidmat added.
Afghanistan's foreign ministry has not issued a statement on these allegations yet. The process of choosing candidates has been long and difficult due to deep ethnic divisions in the country.
