Hamid Karzai likely to defer signing U.S. security deal till April

Washington – Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has decided to defer signing the security deal with the United States until after the April 5 elections.

Karzai said, while addressing the 2,500-member national consultative council known as the “Loya Jirga”, that he supported the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), but the parliament will wait to sign the deal till next spring’s elections are conducted properly and with dignity, the Washington Times reports.

He said that that his decision was linked to lack of trust between him and the U.S., and that such a move would ensure that America is ready to accompany them on the path to security.

However, this could be a deal breaker as the U.S. wants an agreement to be finalized as soon as possible to allow the NATO planners to prepare for a military presence post-2014 troops withdrawal.

According to the report, the Loya Jirga can revise or even reject any clause of the draft agreement, which would then go to the Afghan parliament for consideration, before it gets approved.