KABUL (PAN): Following three days of hot debate, the Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament, has decided against giving trust vote to ministers with dual citizenship. Under the Afghan Constitution, ministerial appointments are the president's sole discretion but each nominee has to win a vote of confidence from the lower house. Article 72, in addition to laying down other conditions for the nomination of cabinet members, states: "An individual appointed as minister shall have the citizenship of Afghanistan alone." It adds: "If the ministerial candidate also has the nationality of another country, the Wolesi Jirga reserves the right to approve or reject his/her nomination" In Monday's session, attended by 125 of the total 239 members, only 15 lawmakers voted in favour of ministers having dual citizenship. Four of the votes were declared invalid. As an overwhelming majority voiced opposition to giving trust vote to ministers who are nationals of other countries as well, Sayed Daud Hashmi believed some cabinet picks would prefer their dual citizenship to ministerial slots. The legislator from Kabul urged the house not to vote for such ministers. "I will never supporter a minister having dual citizenship," he observed, asking his colleagues to adopt a similar stance. Eng. Muhammad Asim, an MP from Baghlan, told Pajhwok Afghan News after the session that dual-citizenship ministers had let down Afghanistan. "Some ministers, directors and ambassadors with dual citizenship have fled to other countries after betraying the nation," the member alleged, without naming names. Ramazan Bashardost, who considered voting on the issue as premature, believed the house should first ascertain whether people with dual nationality had been included in the new cabinet. But the speaker ruled the house should vote on the dual citizenship issue before the introduction of new cabinet picks. If the vote was delayed, Yunus Qanuni argued, deals would be sealed and tribal influences used. Political analyst Wahid Muzhda, slamming the voting exercise as a waste of time, said none of the state organs including the Wolesi Jirga could identify a minister with dual nationality. mnm/mud