US MPs pushing Karzai to sign controversial pact

Young journalists club

News ID: 3773
Publish Date: 17:21 - 23 March 2014
Tehran, YJC. A group of American lawmakers is pressuring Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign a controversial bilateral security agreement with the United States.
This comes as the bipartisan congressional delegation demanded President Karzai to sign the agreement without any further delay.

Speaking to a press conference in Kabul, Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte said Karzai needs to sign the pact quickly to help end uncertainty stemming from his reluctance to do so.

"If this agreement is not signed, the United States of America cannot commit to a follow-on force to assist the Afghan forces in the security of Afghanistan,” Ayotte said.
President Karzai has repeatedly said he won't be bullied into signing a security pact with the US.

Karzai has stated that the US needs to guarantee security for the Afghan people before it signs a bilateral security deal with Kabul.

The Afghan president has accused the US of "absolutely" acting like a colonial power in its attempts to force him to sign the security agreement by the end of this year.

President Karzai and other senior Afghan officials have repeatedly warned the United States to end drone strikes and night raids that fuel anti-American sentiment across the country.

Thousands of Afghan civilians, including a large number of women and children, have been killed during night raids by foreign forces and CIA-run killer drone strikes.

Afghan political figures have also heaped scorn on the US-led forces for committing unforgivable crimes against Afghan women and children since invading the country in 2001.

They have warned that things will get worse should the US set up permanent military bases in Afghanistan.
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