Afghan MPs insist on foreign minister's sacking

KABUL, June 11 (Reuters) The Afghan lower house of parliament refuses to back away from its decision to remove the foreign minister, the chief of the house said today, highlighting a growing divide between the president and parliament.

President Hamid Karzai is in a standoff over the fate of Western-educated Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta and the dispute is seen as a challenge to Karzai's leadership at a time of worsening violence and public disillusionment with his rule.

''Our decision is final...our stance is as before. Karzai has to introduce a new minister,'' the head of the lower house, Yunus Qanuni, told a news conference.

The lower house, made up of factional leaders, ex-communist officials, some former Taliban members and women rights activists, censured Spanta last month for failing to stop the expulsion of Afghan refugees from neighbouring Iran.

Faced with attacks by a resurgent Taliban and political pressure from some senior members of his own government, Karzai opposed Spanta's sacking and referred the case to the supreme court.

The court said the vote of no-confidence against Spanta had no basis because Iran's deportations were outside his control.

Spanta continues to go to work at the foreign ministry and represented Afghanistan on the sidelines of the summit of leaders of G8 countries on Friday, despite parliament's objections.

Under the constitution, the lower house can remove ministers who fail to carry out their jobs, Qanuni said when asked to comment on the supreme court's view.

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

The lower house has also censured the refugees minister over the same issue, but Karzai has agreed to replace him.

Spanta says he did all he could to urge Iran to suspend the repatriations because Afghanistan lacked the resources to resettle them.

Qanuni and nearly two dozen lawmakers along with Karzai's first deputy and some of his former and current cabinet ministers are pushing to reduce the president's powers.

Spanta was seen as opposing Karzai's proposal to reach out to the Taliban and other opposition leaders to end the country's growing violence.

But Spanta has the confidence of Germany, one of Karzai's Western allies in the fight against the Taliban which ruled the country before US-led troops overthrew the rebel group in 2001.

Spanta has also opposed an offer of blanket amnesty passed by the lower house for those who committed war crimes during the country's nearly three decades of conflict.

Spanta has denied any differences with Karzai.

REUTERS KK VV1758