KABUL (PAN): President Hamid Karzai has postponed the introduction of his new cabinet members to the Wolesi Jirga, Lower House of Parliament, until Saturday, the second secretary of the house has said. On Monday, speaker Muhammad Yunus Qanuni said eight to 10 new cabinet ministers would be introduced to the house for a vote of confidence. But he criticised the department concerned for not providing the house biographies and resumes of the new picks. But Wolesi Jirga Second Secretary Dr Muhammad Saleh Saljoqi said the provision of biographies and resumes were withheld after the unveiling of the cabinet was postponed. During Monday's session, some MPs criticised the gradual introduction of the cabinet members. Nazir Ahmad Hanafi from Herat, Shukria Barakzai from Kabul, Fauzia Kofi from Badakhshan and some other lawmakers believed cabinet members should be introduced together. The delay comes after some MPs opposed the presentation of the cabinet in groups, preferring the entire line-up to be finalised first. Karzai is under pressure from the US to fight corruption or see his cabinet bypassed in favour of lower level officials to provide services to Afghans as part of a sweeping new war strategy. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who flew into Kabul on Tuesday for talks with the president on Washington's new strategy to send 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, stepped up calls for an efficient government. Speaking to reporters travelling with him, Gates emphasised "the importance for us of capable, honest ministers in areas that are critical for our success, such as defence and interior." He praised Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Interior Minister Hanif Atmar as "very capable people." In an interview with CNN broadcast on Sunday, Karzai reiterated his inauguration pledge to root out corruption, but insisted complaints from Western powers about government graft were "overplayed." Arif Noorzai, a member of parliament from Kandahar, said Karzai planned to submit the names of six of 25 ministers to the assembly on Monday. After much opposition from parliamentarians, the president and the assembly leadership reached an agreement on a full list to be handed over to lawmakers on Saturday. Babrak Shinwari, a member of parliament from Nangarhar province, also said Karzai would submit his cabinet list on Saturday. He added lawmakers had been told at least five members of Karzai's current team -- ministers of defence, interior, finance, commerce and agriculture -- would remain in the cabinet, but it was unclear whether they would keep the same positions. frm/ma/mud