Afghan foreign minister removed over refugees row

KABUL, May 12 (Reuters) Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta was removed today by parliament for failing to stop the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran, the second cabinet minister to lose his seat over the row this week.

Western-educated Spanta, one of the few technocrats, in President Hamid Karzai's government lost his position in a secret ballot in the lower house of the parliament.

Out of the 217 lawmakers present, 141, voted against the minister who was appointed last year by Karzai.

Iran has expelled nearly 50,000 Afghan refugees over the past month as part of a new campaign to repatriate Afghans living illegally in the country.

Afghanistan has urged its neighbour to suspend the repatriations because the country lacked the resources to resettle them.

The lower house of the Afghan parliament which is made up of factional leaders, some ex-communist officials, several former Taliban members and women rights activists on Thursday voted against the refugees affairs minister Ustad Akbar Akbar.

REUTERS SG VV1552