Recent high-profile visits of top US officials have not made any difference on the deadlock of the Bilateral Security Agreement  (BSA) talks. The US leaders have been emphasizing on early approval of the agreement. US Ambassador to Afghanistan, James Cunningham, says the BSA will determine the future of American troops in Afghanistan. Recently he called for finalization of the BSA until October.

Our rulers in Kabul should not undermine the seriousness of the Obama Administration about full withdrawal. There has been a ridiculous level of indifference in Kabul under the perception that talks of ‘zero option’ are just a negotiations tactic so that the BSA is agreed upon under the US conditions.

Previously the Obama Administration officials had also indicated that the BSA has to be finalized by October to allow the US military leadership for planning the post-2014 involvement in Afghanistan.

Indeed the agreement should be finalized soonest. The US military leadership and their NATO partners need to plan. As Ambassador Cunningham rightly elaborated that the agreement wills “Afghanistan and its international partners will all benefit from the clarity that finishing the BSA will provide."

Issues related to the post-2014 presence of US and NATO troops were actually part of the Strategic Cooperation Partnership Agreement including all matters related, but an atmosphere of distrust and crisis has been created in Kabul for individual political interests.

We believe that the Obama Administration needs to be patient in making decisions about the post-2014 engagement in Afghanistan, given the facts that the Afghan Presidential elections will be held next year in April and a power transition will change the current environment of distrust with new leadership. Almost all segments of the Afghan political opposition, civil society and media strongly support significant American presence and engagement in Afghanistan after 2014.   

The inconsistent behavior of the President Karzai Administration lacks a clear strategic vision for the country. The conditions and demands for BSA regarding military engagement against the sources of militancy across the border seem to unpractical due to the inconsistent and unclear policies of the Karzai Administration with Islamabad.

The call for a new so-called ‘Loya Jirga’ to approve the BSA is beyond understanding due to the fact that the Strategic Partnership Cooperation Agreement already approved from a previous Jirga includes all the matters related to the issue. Another staged event of hand-picked tribal elders is nothing more than bargaining of the current Government to manipulate issues of national security for their agendas of rule.