Karzai digs heels in over BSA with US, says India understands

Sticking to his stand, President Hamid Karzai today said Afghanistan will not sign a bilateral security agreement with the US until it ends airstrikes and raids on Afghan homes and helps restart the stalled peace process with the Taliban.
Asking the US to reconsider its position, Karzai, who held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on his 13th visit, said India understood why Afghanistan was taking "very cautious" steps towards signing the pact that would shape contours of presence of American forces after drawdown of NATO troops next year.
"We believe that the security pact is in the interest of Afghanistan. The Afghan people have given their approval. But we also believe that protection of Afghan homes and the launch of a peace process are absolute pre-requisites," he told reporters.

The Afghan President has refused to ink the proposed pact demanding that the US must put an immediate end to military raids on Afghan homes and demonstrate its commitment to peace talks before he would sign the agreement.
Karzai termed as "brinkmanship" the US talk of withdrawal of all its forces if the war-ravaged country if it did not withdraw the conditions to sign the BSA.
Asked whether the US was considering "zero option" of withdrawing all its troops if Afghanistan does not sign the BSA, Karzai replied in the negative.

"I don't think America is thinking of the zero option. It's brinkmanship they play with us," he said.

Karzai said he would like the US to "respect Afghan homes just like they respect their own homes. In pursuit of a bad person, the US does not bomb its homes."
"When (Barack) Obama writes to me that the forces would respect the homes, it should be proved. It has not been proven yet," he said adding "Just instruct no more bombings and there will be no more bombings and of course launch the peace process publicly and officially.