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KABUL: President Ashraf Ghani appointed new caretakers for the ministries of defense and interior on Friday, a reshuffle deemed to be a turning point amid a strenuous peace effort and fragile security situation.
According to a statement by the National Security Council, former Helmand governor, Hayatullah Hayat has been appointed as acting minister of interior and Chief of Army Staff Gen. Yasin Zia as acting minister of defense.
Moreover, Gen. Ayub Salangi, former deputy head of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance, was appointed as the deputy minister of interior affairs.
Hayatullah Hayat replaced Gen. Massoud Andarabi who was appointed to the post in December 2015 and last year he received votes of confidence from the parliament.
The change is aimed to improve the security situation and bring reforms in the ministry of interior, according to the statement.
In a separate statement, the National Security Council said that Gen. Yasin Zia will lead the defense ministry while also remaining in his post as chief of staff of the Afghan National Army.
Mr. Zia will serve as acting minister of defense until the return of Defense Minister, Assadullah Khalid.
Mr. Khalid is currently under medical treatment abroad.
Security has deteriorated across the country, especially in Kabul, the capital city where last year several rockets were landed and took many innocent lives. Though, both the Interior and Defense Ministries received votes of confidence from parliament last year, security has not improved. There is high hope that a new reshuffle could help finally secure an uneasy capital and improve the security situation across the country.
