Karzai in a fix

Dilemma-struck president opposes the agreement’s early signing with the main reason being his deep mistrust of the US.


Tahir Khan January 17, 2014

A Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is to bow out of office in a few months, is presently involved in a stand-off with the US over a controversial security pact, the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that seeks a longer stay for thousands of American troops and continuation of at least nine military bases. A group of US senators recently visited Kabul to push Karzai into signing the BSA as soon as possible.

However, Karzai has not shown willingness to sign the BSA and restated his two main conditions – that US troops must stop raids on Afghan homes and bring his foes, the Afghan Taliban, to the negotiation table.

Afghanistan has a bitter past. The country plunged into factional fighting after the Soviet exit. As of now, the Afghans are widely divided over the provision of the BSA and Karzai’s stance towards it. Some favour its early signing to ward off instability but others believe that the presence of American troops means the continuation of the exhausting war for several more years. There are suspicions as to why the US wants a longer stay in post-Nato Afghanistan.

The dilemma-struck president opposes the agreement’s early signing with the main reason being his deep mistrust of the US, which dates back to the 2009 elections. He is convinced that the US wanted to install his opponent as president in 2009. Since then, he has been deeply suspicious of US intentions. He is worried about his legacy after 2014 and has mixed feelings about having his name attached to an agreement, which calls for a long-term presence of US soldiers in Afghanistan.

But at the same time, Karzai has been pressing for increased security guarantees, particularly in connection with Pakistan. According to his national security adviser, Karzai has made considerable progress in negotiating about the agreement, convincing the Americans to expand its definition of ‘aggression’ towards Afghanistan that has been mentioned in the BSA to include giving safe havens to those who would seek to overthrow the government. Karzai has told the Loya Jirga that he wanted greater security for Afghanistan before agreeing to sign the BSA and that indicates that he might be seeking more guarantees from the US.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2014.

COMMENTS (1)

Pakistani | 10 years ago | Reply Karzai need to be 'fixed'.
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