Karzai warns on foreign troops immunity

http://www.nation.com.pk

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has warned there could be problems ahead over the crucial issue of immunity from prosecution for any American or Nato soldiers deployed in the country after 2014. The US-led Nato force of more than 100,000 troops is due to end combat operations against Taliban insurgents at the end of that year, but thousands of soldiers are expected to remain in Afghanistan to train and assist Afghan forces. The immunity issue, if Karzai’s warning is meant seriously and is not simply a tactical move, could be a deal breaker. In Iraq, Washington pulled out all its troops, leaving no residual force, after failing to get Baghdad to grant its soldiers protection from prosecution in local courts. In Afghanistan, the question is likely to come down to that needs the other most. The US wants a hand in preventing the country once more becoming a haven for Al Qaeda, and Kabul needs US help in the fight against the Taliban. Karzai said in a statement that he had told visiting Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen during talks in Kabul Thursday that the Afghan people might “not permit their government to grant immunity”. This would happen “if the war and insecurities continue in Afghanistan, Afghan borders are not protected, and the immunity for foreign forces comes on top of these issues”, he said. Karzai knows he has a bargaining chip in this negotiation, and his statement could be seen as a bid for even more cash and support from the United States and Nato countries after 2014 than has already been pledged.