Karzai to call assembly of elders over security deal with US
Iran Press TV
Tue Oct 8, 2013 2:50PM GMT
President Hamid Karzai says he will convene a Loya Jirga, the grand assembly of elders to discuss a security deal that allows the US to set up permanent military bases in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 deadline for withdrawal of foreign troops.
Speaking to reporters in Kabul, Karzai said his government would abide by the decision of the assembly.
The remarks come after President Karzai told British media that he is not ready to sign the deal as long as it does not suit Afghanistan's interests and purposes.
Kabul and Washington are at odds over US demands for the right to conduct unilateral military operations, and over how the US would pledge to protect Afghanistan.
Washington is pushing for the pact to be signed by the end of this month. The deal allows the US to keep its forces and bases in Afghanistan on a permanent basis.
The recent remarks by the Afghan president have once again dashed American hopes that a pact can be quickly finalized.
The collapse of a similar agreement with Iraq in 2011 led to the US pulling all its troops out of the country.
The developments also come as several Afghan political parties have recently heaped scorn on US-led forces for committing unforgivable crimes against Afghan women and children since invading the country in 2001.
The Islamic Movement of Afghanistan Party and several other political factions have released a statement warning that things will get worse should the US sets up its bases in Afghanistan.
Thousands of Afghan civilians, including a large number of women and children, have been killed during night raids by foreign forces and CIA-run assassination drone strikes.
JR/PR
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