Afghan Jirga Endorsed BSA, Called On Karzai To Sign It

Afghan tribal elites concluded a four-day Loya Jirga on Sunday, endorsing the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States, which allows a residual US troops to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014. A unanimous majority of 2,500-member Jirga called on President Hamid Karzai to sign the document by the end of this year. But, the Afghan president laid out three pre-conditions before signing the security pact: transparent elections in April 2014, no raids on Afghan homes and a breakthrough in talks with the Taliban. Washington has said that it's "neither practical nor possible" to delay the signing. President Karzai in his speech on Thursday in the opening of the Jirga said that the BSA would be signed after the April elections. "If there is one more raid on Afghan homes by US forces, there is no BSA. US can't go to our homes from this moment onwards," President Karzai in his half an hour closing remarks in Jirga. The Afghan president said he believed peace in Afghanistan is "first in the hands of the US and secondly in the hands of Pakistan". He said now that the Jirga has endorsed the document, he will continue bargaining with the US government on the three pre-conditions. The US military would be stationed out of nine military bases in Afghanistan, but representatives of central Bamyan province in the Loya Jirga said they wanted a US base in their province too. The Jirga has accepted that the US soldiers should be prosecuted under the US law, suggesting that an Afghan government's representative should be present during the trial. The Jirga outcome also includes that the US cannot have any prison in Afghanistan and it should handover all Afghan detainees to the government of Afghanistan. The US insists the deal - which has taken months to negotiate - must be signed before the end of this year in order to secure plans for how many troops will remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014. US government's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, James Dobbins, on Friday said that the security pact between the countries ought to be signed in the next few weeks. "We feel strongly that the agreement ought to be signed as soon as it's approved by the Jirga and then it ought to be sent to the parliament and approved and this ought to occur at some time in the next few weeks," Ambassador Dobbins told TOLOnews. "The Afghan people are anxious whether the United States and the international community remain committed to their security and wellbeing and frankly the American people and the international community are uncertain about whether the Afghan people really want us," he added. The American-led NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks in order to oust the Taliban regime and prevent terrorist groups like al-Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a base of operations. Twelve years later, as the coalition withdraws in the lead up to its self-set December, 2014 deadline, there are still around 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, out of which 68,000 are American. The Afghan security forces currently number at around 350,000 men. They're greatest deficiency, according to experts, are logistics. Most are adamant about the US and other coalition countries continuing to advise, train and assist the Afghan forces beyond 2014.