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US halts 6 Afghan projects over security deal delay: Official

Iran Press TV

Sun Dec 8, 2013 3:53PM GMT

An Afghan minister says the United States has halted up to six projects in Afghanistan since President Hamid Karzai delayed signing a security deal with Washington.

On Sunday, Afghan Minister of Defense Bismillah Khan Mohammadi said the US has stopped the projects in the country to put pressure on President Karzai to sign the controversial deal.

The remarks came after Karzai accused the US of not providing the country with military supplies, stressing that the US is trying to force Kabul into signing a security deal with Washington and that that his country will never bow to US pressure.

'There is no doubt that certain elements within the Afghan government are facing pressure from the US. However, this will not achieve anything,' Karzai's spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said in a statement on Friday, adding, 'If there is a perception in Washington that certain elements in Kabul can force President [Hamid] Karzai to succumb to any pressure, it is seriously flawed and mistaken.'

Washington has rejected President Karzai's suggestion to delay signing the deal, saying it will not wait until after the April 2014 presidential vote to seal the agreement.

Washington says if Karzai doesn't sign the deal before the year's end, the US-led forces must leave Afghanistan completely.

The deal allows the US to keep thousands of its troops in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal date for foreign troops.

Afghan activists say the security treaty between Washington and Kabul will pave the way for a prolonged US military presence in the war-ravaged country.

Afghan political figures have heaped scorn on US-led forces for committing unforgivable crimes against women and children since invading the country in 2001.

President Karzai and other senior government officials have also repeatedly warned the United States to end night raids that fuel anti-American sentiment across the war-torn country.

JR/PR