Amir relieves Defense, Interior Ministries; Premier declines to form new Cabinet

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah will deliver a speech at 7:00 pm tonight addressing the citizens and the people of Kuwait.
This comes on the heels of an Amiri order issued earlier yesterday to relieve First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah from their positions. The order assigned Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to run the affairs of the Defense Ministry, while Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh was assigned to the run the affairs of the Interior Ministry. The Prime Minister will be tasked with executing the decree and notifying the National Assembly of the decisions. The order will take effect on the date of issue and will be announced in the official gazette of the state.
Meanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah forwarded a letter to His Highness the Amir asking to be relieved of the duty to form the next Cabinet. An Amiri order was issued earlier yesterday assigning His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak as Prime Minister.
In a statement in which he 'respectfully declined' the position of Prime Minister, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak expressed gratitude to His Highness the Amir for his trust in him, saying that it was an honor to serve the country and people. Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak said that he felt sorrow over not being able to implement the order due to fear that he could not attend to his duties adequately. He also expressed sorrow in regards news being spread over traditional and social medias, stressing that the campaign of misinformation was far from the truth and warned that will have a negative impact on the state if it continued.
Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak affirmed that he was laying his trust in the Kuwaiti legal system, which will bring justice to the forefront. He renewed his apology to His Highness the Amir over his inability to take on the position of Prime Minister, wishing the best to whomever will be assigned as head of the cabinet.