Karzai in no hurry to ink security pact: Faizi

KABUL (Pajhwok): President Hamid Karzai, insisting on the practical launch of a meaningful peace process, is no hurry to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Aimal Faizi said: “We aren’t in a hurry to conclude the security pact…” Kabul insisted on launching a practical reconciliation process, he said, hours after US and Afghan leaders spoke over the telephone.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama called his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai to inform him that Washington was moving ahead with additional contingency planning in Afghanistan after 2014.

“Obama told Karzai because he has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he would sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning,” the White House said.

Specifically, Obama asked the Pentagon to ensure that it had adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the US not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014.

Faizi said the US leader renewed his call for the signing of the pact before the April 5 presidential elections, but stuck to his position on the issue. According to him, Obama spoke of a complete troop pullout if the BSA is not signed by the end of 2014.

There was no warning from Obama, who also indicated that his administration might sign the accord with the new Afghan president after the ballot, the spokesman added.

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