Karzai warns US on Bilateral Security pact terms

Karzai warns US on Bilateral Security pact terms
Sat Jan 25, 2014 16:44:15

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has warned that if the White House does not guarantee peace in Afghanistan, he will not sign the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the US.

"If US is not willing to accept our conditions on the BSA, they can leave anytime and Afghan will go without foreigners," Karzai said at a news conference in the capital, Kabul, on Saturday.

He said the signing of the deal would have no positive conclusion if peace and security were not guaranteed.

Karzai added that "no pressure, no threats and no psychological war" will force him to sign a US deal allowing foreign forces to remain in the country past a planned withdrawal at the end of this year.

Karzai had previously accused the United States of not providing the country with military supplies in an attempt to pressure him to sign the controversial deal.

Karzai also blamed the United States for pursuing wrong policies in the so-called fight against terrorism.

The Afghan president said it would not be tolerable for Afghans if innocent people were killed even after the security agreement is signed.

Separately, Karzai criticized a detention facility on the US-run Bagram Air Field north of Kabul. Karzai referred to Bagram as a "Taliban-producing factory" where he said innocent Afghans are tortured into hating their country. He also said he had been trying to close it for some six years.

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

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

RA/MB
 

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