The obscurity of election outcome and din of political issue has not only led to the public anxiety but also triggered a serious dilemma in foreign officials. The long-term disagreement between the two presidential candidates, over the presidential result, has laid a challenge ahead of the US decision. As a result, a foreign official is quoted that NATO will soon be forced to take a decision on a total pullout from Afghanistan unless a deadlock over the country’s election ends and a new president signs an agreement allowing foreign forces to stay.
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, “Soon we will have to take tough decisions because if there isn’t a legal basis for our continued presence in Afghanistan, we will have to withdraw everything by the end of this year and to do that we will have to start planning ... very soon.”
It is yet hesitated whether the struggles made by US Secretary of State John Kerry break the deadlock. However, both candidates have now signed an agreement stating that they will agree to a timeline for the electoral process and an inauguration date for the next president by the end of August.
US ambassador to Afghanistan has stated that the two candidates agreed that the goal, what Afghans and their international partners wanted, was to try to inaugurate a new president by the end of August. He added that they encouraged the two candidates to continue to develop the political dialogue that has actually begun with the preparation of their joint statement.
Moreover, both the candidates Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai have said that they will sign the security pact if they win the election. Signing Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) is back in the spotlight with the ending months of 2014. Once it was one of the most controversial issues which did not only put Hamid Karzai in collision course with the citizens but also led his relationship to the verge of disintegration with US top officials, since he refused to sign it despite public demands. The reason behind Karzai’s refusal was the preconditions set by him were not fully met with the US authorities. However, they were met to a large extent such as the release of many Taliban prisoners and assigning the responsibility of Bagram prison to Afghan soldiers.
Currently, since the insecurity and acts of terror, which threaten the life of Afghan citizens, are turned blind eye by the officials, Afghans urge on the government to announce the election outcome and the future president to sign the security pact. In short, the presence of foreign forces is seriously needed and widely supported by the people of Afghanistan.