Taliban support Karzai's opposition to US security pact

[Shah-i-Kot]

3 December 2013, 04:39 Taliban support Karzai's opposition to US security pact








The Afghan Taliban said they back President Hamid Karzai's refusal to immediately sign a bilateral security agreement with Washington because his position is "closer to the truth."


"We hope that this opposition stems from a true Afghan pride and for the sake of ending the problems of our people," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Notably, the Taliban also addressed Karzai as the Kabul administration's leader, instead of as the "puppet of the US."
Voice of Russia, DPA

[Shah-i-Kot]

Taliban urge Afghan president Hamid Karzai to reject US security deal | World news | theguardian.com


Taliban urge Afghan president Hamid Karzai to reject US security deal

Taliban offer Karzai rare support but say 'the decision of Afghan nation is clear: they don't want any occupier in our homeland'

• Monday 2 December 2013 19.31 GMT

Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai has delayed signing a long-term security pact with the US. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters

The Taliban have urged the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, to turn a delay in signing a long-term security deal with the United States into outright rejection, in an unusually polite statement directed at a leader the insurgents have repeatedly denounced as a US puppet.
Karzai last month called a national assembly to vote on the bilateral security agreement (BSA) and then shocked most of the country, including some of his closest advisers, by ignoring the advice of the handpicked group that he sign as soon as possible.
The deal would allow US forces to stay on past the 2014 end of the current combat mission, and seal billions of dollars a year in funding for the Afghan police and military. Karzai's delaying tactics stirred widespread condemnation from many in the Kabul elite worried about how the country would fight the Taliban without foreign funds or back-up.
The Taliban on Monday offered the Afghan leader rare, if somewhat grudging, support for his position so far, but also demanded that he abandon all conditions and reject the pact unilaterally.
"Karzai, the president of the Kabul administration, apparently conditionally refused to sign the BSA," the emailed statement from spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. "If he truly understands the real (situation), he should reject it without conditions, from a sense of Afghan spirit.
"The decision of the Afghan nation is clear: they don't want any occupier in our homeland."
The insurgent group's statement came on the day Iraq's foreign minister visited Kabul and admitted that his country still needs "continued US support" to combat widespread sectarian violence, even though it turned down a deal for long-term military support two years ago.
The last American soldiers pulled out of Iraq in 2011 after the two countries failed to agree a pact similar to the one Afghanistan is now being offered. The sticking point was Baghdad's refusal to grant immunity from Iraq law to US troops.
"Our expectation of the government of Afghanistan is to sign the BSA with the US, because Afghanistan needs US support," Tolo television station quoted minister Hoshyar Zebari telling Afghan journalists.
Karzai has said he will not sign the BSA until after a presidential election to choose his successor next year – he cannot stand again – and recently listed a range of new demands, from an immediate halt of all raids on foreign homes to the release of all Afghan prisoners held at Guantanamo day.
The US has said that the negotiations are finished, and Karzai must make a decision by the end of the year, to allow time for planning either a troop departure or the shape of the follow-up presence, expected to be around 8,000 to 10,000 US forces and a smaller number from Nato allies.
If the deal is not signed, all foreign soldiers will leave when the current combat mission ends in 2014, and most of a promised $8 billion a year in military and development aid is likely to vanish. A still-weak army that relies on foreign training and back-up would be on its own in the fight against the Taliban.
Karzai's close advisers, including spokesman Aimal Faizi, have said they do not believe there is really a "zero option" of withdrawing all troops, and the US is trying to intimidate a poorer, weaker ally.
But US politicians, diplomats and analysts warn that after years of mostly outfoxing his foreign backers when the Afghan war was a top policy priority, Karzai may have severely miscalculated the mood in an economically strained US, and a White House distracted by other international crises from Syria to China.
Tensions between the United States and Afghanistan flared up further in the past few days after a Nato airstrike killed a young boy in Helmand province. The Afghan leader's office said that attack was a betrayal of a promise by US President Barack Obama that his forces would respect Afghan civilians as they do their own citizens.
At the weekend Karzai also accused the US of cutting off fuel supplies to the police and army in a bid to force him into signing the pact. The Nato-led coalition denied any halt in flows of diesel or gasoline vital to patrols and military operations against the Taliban.
"We are aware of a statement on the Afghan presidential website concerning issues with fuel provisions for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)," spokesman David Simons said in an email. There has been no stoppage in the delivery of requested fuel and we continue to process all orders as soon as they are received from the ANSF."
According to the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, the American government paid more than $1.1 billion to fuel the Afghan army from 2007 to 2012, the Associated Press reported. It plans to spend more for fuel until 2018, but only if a security deal is signed.
Additional reporting by Mokhtar Amiri

[Shah-i-Kot]

This is a major development. Karzai is visiting India to again request military assistance. India last time, rejected his request.

I think Karzai's upcoming visit to China will be the most important one- for peace talks , security, and economic ties.

Thoughts?

[Al-Afghani]

It's like one man runs the whole show, Karzai. What about his cabinet, his ministers?

[Khostai]

Schneaky Karzai has made some schneaky plans, he just wants that US will help him in the election, so that the person he likes will come to power.....what a biatch -_-.

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Well certainly its better for afghanistan and its people that the america remain in the region for atleast 1 more decade.

No alternative is more better than this.

Peace talk with taliban,May be Good but how can one forgot how many of innocent had they killed.

[khushal]

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...28213080451886
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits Kabul on Saturday on a trip that aims to push forward the Afghan government's stalled talks with the Taliban and spur joint economic projects that could ease Pakistan's chronic electricity crisis.

Mr. Sharif's trip—his first to neighboring Afghanistan since taking office in June—comes as Afghan President Hamid Karzai is embroiled in a deepening crisis with the U.S., refusing to sign promptly a security agreement that would allow for some American troops to remain in Afghanistan after next year.

The Pakistani prime minister, who seeks to reassert civilian control over his nation's foreign and security policies, has made the improvement of relations with Mr. Karzai's government a top priority, tempering the Pakistani security establishment's long-term support for the Afghan Taliban insurgency. "Peace and stability in Afghanistan are in Pakistan's vital interest," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Friday.



Enlarge Image
Nawaz Sharif, center, at dinner for retiring Army chief, in a government photo. Press Information Department / European Pressphoto Agency
Pakistani and Afghan officials will also discuss a plan to bring electricity from Central Asia through Afghanistan to alleviate Pakistan's power shortages.

With most or all U.S. troops leaving Afghanistan next year, Islamabad is particularly concerned that Pakistan's own militants could exploit chaos across the border to intensify their war against the Pakistani state.

"Sharif understands the value, and has reasonable clarity on how to achieve [stability in Afghanistan,] when others continue to view Karzai as not the best partner," said Mosharraf Zaidi, a former adviser to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. "Pakistan must not react to what seem to be provocations from Afghanistan. The relationship is much further along than most people give it credit."

Afghan officials view Pakistan, where most Afghan Taliban leaders are based, as holding the key to initiating peace talks with the insurgency. The Taliban have refused to negotiate with Mr. Karzai, dismissing him as an American "puppet." The Afghan officials say they believe that Pakistan has the capacity to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

In a radio interview this week, Mr. Karzai described both the U.S. and Pakistan as "obstacles to peace" with the Taliban insurgency.

A senior Afghan official said that Kabul is particularly angered by the continuing thwarting of Mr. Karzai's attempts to open contacts with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's former second-in-command who was arrested by a joint Pakistani and Central Intelligence Agency operation in Karachi in 2010. Messrs. Karzai and Baradar belong to the same Popolzai Pashtun sub-clan, and Mr. Karzai said this week he will discuss the Baradar case during Mr. Sharif's visit on Saturday.

Following an agreement between Messrs. Sharif and Karzai at a summit in England in October, a delegation of senior Afghan peace negotiators recently traveled to Karachi to meet with Mr. Baradar, an encounter that Kabul believed could breathe new life into the peace process.

However, to their dismay, the Afghan negotiators found Mr. Baradar heavily sedated and "not in a position to talk," a senior Afghan official said. The Taliban leader remained in Pakistani custody, even though he was released from prison in September at Kabul's request. Pakistani officials told the Afghan negotiators that Mr. Baradar's freedom is being limited because of a U.S. request, the senior Afghan official said.

Laura Lucas Magnuson, a White House spokeswoman, didn't directly address the Afghan complaints, but said that the U.S. supports "efforts to further Afghan-led reconciliation" and encourages "consultations between the Afghan and Pakistani governments in support of reconciliation efforts."

Some U.S. officials have privately expressed concern that Mr. Baradar could return to the insurgency if he were freed, as happened with other Taliban commanders released by Islamabad in the past. They are also skeptical that peace talks can begin before a successor to Mr. Karzai is picked in elections slated for April.

As a gesture to Kabul, Islamabad freed several mid-ranking Afghan Taliban detainees in recent days. The Afghan government sees such releases as a way to encourage the insurgents to join peace negotiations.

Mr. Karzai's dispute with the U.S. intensified ahead of Mr. Sharif's arrival, following a U.S. airstrike that mistakenly killed an Afghan child. Mr. Karzai said he won't sign the security deal with the U.S. as long as such killings continue.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, commander of the U.S.-led coalition, late Thursday called Mr. Karzai to apologize for the airstrike, which targeted a midlevel Taliban commander in Helmand province.

In addition to peace talks, Pakistan and Afghanistan will also discuss the plan to bring electricity from Central Asia to alleviate Pakistan's power shortages.

Pakistani cities suffer rolling blackouts of 12 hours or more, a crisis that has crippled the country's industry and stunted economic growth. Kabul enjoys far more regular electricity thanks to power lines that stretch from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The so-called "CASA-1000" project that Messrs. Sharif and Karzai plan to discuss Saturday would extend and expand those lines to carry all the way into Pakistan the surplus electricity produced in the summer by hydropower stations in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The World Bank is the lead donor of the $1 billion project, which has already secured most of the funding, and could be operational in 2016.

"While Afghanistan has historically been a center of trade and transit, this time it's a demonstration project," said Bob Saum, the World Bank country director for Afghanistan. "It will demonstrate the role Afghanistan can play as a regional partner and as a source for investment, and will provide much needed energy to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan."

Pakistan would receive some 1,300 megawatts of electricity a year, partially offsetting its power shortage, while Afghanistan would be able to draw around 300 mw and levy around $15 million in transit fees annually, under the plan.

Another, more ambitious, energy project that Messrs. Sharif and Karzai plan to discuss Saturday would build a pipeline to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan, Pakistan and to India. Pakistan suffers from a severe natural gas shortage.

[khushal]

Kerry said today that the Afghan Defense Minister(who was caought on camera molesting a child) can sign the BSA instead of Karzai.

[Kushan Prince]

Now I would love for all those talib haters to say Taliban are against Afghanistan LOL!

This article proves they are looking out for the good and dont want to sell the land to foreigners! Unlike those sell out politicians who have America's las up their kuna.

[ډګروال]

Kerry said today that the Afghan Defense Minister(who was caought on camera molesting a child) can sign the BSA instead of Karzai.

where did he say this?

[ډګروال]

Well certainly its better for afghanistan and its people that the america remain in the region for atleast 1 more decade.

No alternative is more better than this.

Peace talk with taliban,May be Good but how can one forgot how many of innocent had they killed.

you should stay away from Afghan related threads and focus on your punjabi masters and hindus.

[Zazai]

Afghan Defense Minister(who was caought on camera molesting a child)

Where?

[khushal]

where did he say this?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/03/us-afghanistan-nato-idUSBRE9B20U820131203

Here the NATO chief says , Karzai is not the only one who can sign it,

http://www.timesonline.com/news/world/europe/nato-chief-not-just-karzai-can-sign-afghan-pact/article_bccfd2d8-9a95-5e35-b7cf-d1333450c8bf.html

How is this not a puppet gov, if they can bypass the president.

[khushal]

Where?

This is the current defense minister
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismillah_Khan_Mohammadi

and here is the video where he is abusing a child
Afghan interior minister Kabul بچه بازی بسم الله Ù…Ø*مدی وزیر داخله - YouTube

These are the people that the US puts in power. This is a big shame for America.

[afghan]

This is the current defense minister
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismillah_Khan_Mohammadi

and here is the video where he is abusing a child
Afghan interior minister Kabul بچه بازی بسم الله Ù…Ø*مدی وزیر داخله - YouTube[/URL]

These are the people that the US puts in power. This is a big shame for America.

you better know that bismillah khan is an idiot, uneducated idiot. first he became police chief of kabul. now he could be anything,but will always remain an uneducated thug and and a criminal in ordinary afghan eye.