Hamid Karzai in no rush to sign US security deal

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he is in no rush to sign a security deal with the United States. The United States want a deal by October to give American and NATO enough time to prepare for keeping some troops in Afghanistan after a scheduled 2014 withdrawal, instead of complete pullout.

According to the Washington Times, Afghanistan and the United States have been negotiating since last October on a security deal that will give the US a legal basis for having forces in Afghanistan after 2014. If the United States does not sign the deal, it is unlikely that NATO or any of its allies will keep troops in Afghanistan after 2014.

Karzai, however, has demands that the US is reluctant to meet, and he also is believed to want to shield himself from any possible backlash from signing a deal that some see as compromising Afghan sovereignty, the report said.

According to the report, he added that if by October the United States can’t meet a set of wide-ranging conditions, then they could sign a deal with his successor after the April 5 elections for a new head of state

Karzai also said any security deal would also have to be approved first by a council of Afghan elders, or Loya Jirga, a national meeting that can take weeks to organize, the report added.