Afghan President Hamid Karzai, facing massive Western pressure to clamp down on corruption, will submit at least part of his long-awaited Cabinet to Parliament for approval today, an official said.

Re-elected for a second term in an August election marred by fraud, the 51-year-old head of state is under huge domestic and foreign pressure to form a transparent government to help end an eight-year Taliban insurgency.

"The President intends to introduce a number of his new Cabinet members to Parliament tomorrow, Tuesday," Siamak Herawi, a Karzai spokesman, told AFP yesterday.

Asked how many of the new Cabinet members would be submitted, the spokesman added: "Most likely a good number of them, most of them."

Parliament must pass a vote of confidence before the new Afghan Cabinet can start work and analysts hope that the new line-up can finally crack on with the business of government after months of political paralysis.

Lawmakers have delayed the start of their winter recess, but one MP expressed doubt that the 241-member house could expedite approval of the new cabinet.

"On Tuesday it's very unlikely to happen because it's not on the agenda. The heads of (parliamentary) committees will discuss it at their meeting this afternoon and come up with a final decision," Shukria Barakzai told AFP.

After the meeting, one lawmaker told AFP on the condition of anonymity that the palace had postponed the unveiling of the Cabinet from today until Saturday, but officials at the President's office were unable to confirm this.

Washington has warned Mr Karzai 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 that includes more than 30,000 extra troops.