‘Signing Afghan-US security pact difficult’

Afghanistan’s government says signing a security agreement with Washington is too difficult while the US supports foreign elements of the Taliban.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Pashto, President Karzai’s spokesman Emal Faizi said on Saturday that Taliban are being supported by foreign elements—particularly by Pakistan.

He said if the US does not put pressure on the foreign elements of the Taliban, it would be too difficult for the Afghan government to sign the security agreement with Washington.

He has strongly condemned the recent Taliban bombings in the country, saying that they were all coordinated and planned on that side of the border.

On May 30, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the US must accept conditions set by Afghans if it wants to maintain permanent military bases in Afghanistan.

Karzai had said, “Any agreement will not benefit Afghanistan if they are signed without taking the interests of the country into account.”

Karzai also had accused certain foreign countries of using the peace talks with the Taliban militants for their own interests. He said if the foreign countries follow their own path in talks with the militants, then he will reveal their secret political activities in Afghanistan.

On May 2, 2012, Washington and Kabul signed a deal that authorized the presence of US troops for a period of 10 years after 2014, which was the original date agreed earlier for the departure of all foreign combat troops from Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s parliament approved the pact on May 26.