U.S. wants Afghanistan to ink security pact within 3 months: Karzai

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ANI Kabul
Last Updated : Jun 30 2013 | 3:30 PM IST

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai revealed Saturday that the United States wants to ink the proposed security pact with Kabul within the next three months.

"President Obama emphasized recently to reach agreement over the security pact within three months until next October," President Karzai told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron here.

However, the Afghan president added that the talk for inking the security pact, is still suspended; noting Afghanistan has its condition for inking the controversial agreement.

Afghan government suspended the talks with the United States over the inking security pact on June 19 in the wake of opening Taliban liaison office in Qatar with the emblem of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the name given to Afghanistan during Taliban rule, condemning it as a conspiracy to divide the country.

President Karzai also noted that Afghans are against federalism or any regime imposed from outside. "Our conditions for inking security pact with U.S. include ensuring durable peace, security and stability," President Karzai said, adding if "our conditions are accepted certainly our nation will ink the security pact."

The proposed security pact which is known as Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) if signed would govern the deployment of limited U. S. military presence in Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal of some 100,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the conflict-ridden country.

In his address at the press conference, Prime Minister Cameron who earlier toured the southern Helmand province and visited his troops there, categorically stated that British troops would reduce bases in Afghanistan and would have no military mission in the militancy-plagued country after 2014.

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First Published: Jun 30 2013 | 2:59 PM IST

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