President Hamid Karzai made the nominations as part of a cabinet reshuffle, which has been interpreted as a means to secure his powerbase before anointing a successor to stand for election in 2014, but parliamentary approval is needed.

The most controversial of the new appointments is Asadullah Khalid, Karzai's choice for intelligence chief and the outgoing borders and tribal affairs ministers who has been implicated in human rights abuses.

"Today in an open vote we will vote for the new nominees. After the speeches and question and answer session, the vote will begin and the result will be announced," parliament speaker Abdul Rahoof Ibrahimi told MPs.

Amnesty International has called on parliament to delay its vote to appoint Khalid, instead asking lawmakers to investigate "claims of his involvement in numerous alleged acts of torture and other grave human rights violations".