WASHINGTON, Feb 4: The US has ramped up pressure on Hamid Karzai Government in Afghanistan to sign a key bilateral security agreement in “a matter of weeks” even as the campaign for the presidential elections kicked off in war-torn country.
“We’re not renegotiating the Bilateral Security Agreement. It needs to be signed in a matter of weeks, at most, not months, because you can’t hold in abeyance the need for NATO and US military commanders to plan for a post-2014 presence in Afghanistan should there be one, and there will not be one absent of BSA,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
The Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which has already been negotiated between the two nations, is considered crucial for the presence of American troops and that of its allies in Afghanistan after the end of the year, when the current mandate expires.
Afghan President Karzai has refused to sign the BSA, which has been passed by the Loya Jirga (Parliament), and has been arguing that it needs to be signed by the new president, elections for which will be held in April.
Obama Administration insists that it cannot wait that long as not only the US but also its allies, which have their troops in Afghanistan, need appropriate time for planning.
In the absence of BSA, the White House has threatened to pull out all its troops out of the country, which many experts say would be detrimental to the peace and stability of the region.
“We’ve been very clear that in order to move forward with planning for a post-2014 troop presence with NATO — a presence that would be one envisioned after the end of the combat mission, one in which US troops and NATO troops would be focused solely on two missions, training and supporting the Afghan forces and counterterrorism — depends on the Bilateral Security Agreement being signed.
Carney said the longer there is a delay, the harder it is for NATO and US military forces to plan for a post-2014 presence.
“This is a matter of weeks, not months. I think that that’s a way of saying this can’t wait for very long because it’s impossible to ask our NATO allies or our US military commanders to plan on a contingency — this is a complicated piece of business and there cannot be and will not be US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 without a signed Bilateral Security Agreement,” he said.
This agreement, Carney said, was negotiated in good faith over a long period of time with the current Afghan Government.
“It was endorsed by the Loya Jirga. We think the loya jirga was correct,” he said when asked why not wait for the new Afghan President who would have a fresh mandate for the next five years. (PTI)
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