A security deal to allow some US troops to stay in Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda was at risk of collapse yesterday after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he was prepared to walk away from negotiations.
The US has pushed for the bilateral security pact (BSA) to be signed by the end of this month so that the US-led NATO military coalition can schedule its withdrawal of 87,000 troops by the end of next year.
However, Karzai said he refused to be rushed into signing the deal, and would first seek approval from a traditional grand assembly to be convened in a month’s time.
“The agreement has to suit Afghanistan’s interests and purposes. If it doesn’t suit us and if it doesn’t suit them, then naturally we will go separate ways,” Karzai said in a BBC interview in Kabul.
According to the Afghan government, talks ground to a halt over US demands for the right to conduct unilateral military operations after next year, and on how the US would pledge to protect Afghanistan.
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel last week described the deal as “critically important” and said he hoped it would be signed by the end of the month.
The collapse of a similar agreement with Iraq in 2011 led to the US pulling all its troops out of the country, which is currently suffering its worst sectarian violence since 2008.
However, Kabul has dismissed the possibility that the US may enact the “zero option” of a complete pull-out.
US and Afghan negotiators held their latest round of talks on Monday, focusing their attention on two sticking points.
Afghanistan wants US guarantees against future foreign intervention, a veiled reference to neighboring Pakistan.
Kabul accuses its neighbor of harboring the Taliban and other extremists who enter Afghanistan and then cross back into Pakistan, where they cannot be attacked by Afghan or US-led international forces.
The second sticking point is the role and conduct of the counterterrorism force the US wants to leave behind.
“The United States and its allies, NATO, continue to demand even after signing the BSA they will have the freedom to attack our people, our villages,” Karzai said on Monday.
Karzai’s outburst came in response to a question about a NATO air strike on Friday last week in Nangarhar Province.
The US-led coalition said its forces struck insurgents trying to attack the base and that no civilians were harmed, but Kabul claims five civilians were killed.
After Karzai’s comments, Washington said it remained committed to talks and urged Kabul to stay focused on concluding the deal.
US President Barack Obama this week said he would consider a limited US mission after this year only if the Afghan government “was willing to work with us in a cooperative way that would protect our troops.”
The US wants to keep as many as 10,000 troops in Afghanistan to go after the remnants of al-Qaeda, but if no agreement is signed, all US troops would have to leave by Dec. 31 next year and it is unlikely that NATO or any of its allies will keep troops there either.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was