President Hamid Karzai remains firm to his decision of not signing the Bilateral Security Agreement or BSA quickly, although Afghans and the US authorities have been pushing for its finalization by the end of this month. Sources have confirmed that the President’s cabinet has also opposed him over this rigidity. Meanwhile, based on a report published by Washington Post, Afghan military and police commanders have accused the US-led coalition of withholding fuel and other support in an attempt to pressurize President Hamid Karzai into signing a security agreement with the United States. Coalition officials strongly deny the allegation. The US authorities have also threatened to go for ‘zero option’ if the deal fails.

Last month, the Loya Jirga not only successfully approved the BSA but also emphasized over its speedy endorsement by President Karzai. At the same time, Afghan intellectuals, civil society activists, parliamentarians, senators, politicians and other public figures have not supported Karzai’s decision to postpone finalizing the troops agreement until after April 5th election.

Now, even the election date seems uncertain as based on a recent report by Reuters, the President has suggested delaying the election to avoid heavy snow in some parts of the country. Even if it is supposed that the US authorities agree with Karzai’s decision on signing of the security agreement, the date on which it will be finalized remains gravely uncertain.

Earlier, this paper had said any kind of failure in reaching the security deal would directly benefit the Taliban and other terror groups. Unsurprisingly, the most favorable comments for Mr. Karzai’s decision on signing of BSA have come from the leader of terror group. In a letter, Gulbaddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan – a group involved in carrying out attacks against NATO forces – has called upon Karzai to stick to his decision. A part of Hekmatyar’s letter reads “It would be good (for you) to take such an action in your last days in rule to compensate the past and leave a good name in the history; you never know when life ends.” Meanwhile, in a statement, the Taliban have also appreciated Karzai's resistance for not signing BSA and have said he has now understood the reality.

If the security agreement fails, the country may immediately fall into political chaos which will ultimately lead to collapse of Afghan economy and more insecurity. The beneficiary of such a situation will be the Taliban and other insurgent groups.