Afghanistan left with no choice on BSA: Rights body chief

Afghanistan has no choice but to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement with the US as the country's security forces still need training and equipment, the war-torn country's Human Rights Commission chairperson said today.
"There is a little bit of uncertainty among the general public because of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which was handled very badly by both sides. Not just the Afghan side but also by the US side," said Sima Samar, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan who is here for a conference.
"As a citizen, I feel, we might sign the BSA because we have no choice. The reason I am saying we have no choice is that our security forces still need training and equipment from the international community," she told reporters.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign the security pact has strained relations with the US. If the pact is not signed, the Pentagon's biggest challenge will be closing huge military facilities like those in Bagram and Kandahar.
Samar expressed optimism over the "historic" April 4 presidential elections in Afghanistan. She said the fact that the diverse candidates are in the fray was encouraging and it showed that there was a process in place.
She said it did not matter who comes to power in the polls as what was crucial was that people should continue to keep faith in the democratic process.

However, she said, "Taliban will not come back to power because of the experience people had back then and the young generation will not give away their freedom easily."

Samar said there had been many improvements in Afghanistan since the Taliban-era and freedom of expression was now prevalent. She pointed out that there were 200 radio stations in the country.
The Human Rights Commission chairperson said the drawdown of international troops from Afghanistan later this year would involve a security transition, economic transition and a humanitarian transition.
Presidential candidates in the war-ravaged country began two months of campaigning on February 2 for an election that Washington and its allies hope will bring much-needed stability before the US-led troops exit after 13 years of inconclusive war.