US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday for a previously-not-announced visit. He is not scheduled to meet President Hamid Karzai, though he will be meeting other senior Afghan officials: Defense Minister, Bismillah Khan Muhammadi and Interior Minister Omar Daudzia.
The visit takes places at times when President Karzai’s unwillingness to sign Bilateral Security Agreement by the end of this year has caused some concerns between him and the US authorities. Hagel follows US National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who have visited Afghanistan but had no success in persuading Karzai to sign the agreement. The fact that Hagel is not supposed to meet the president indicates that there has been no change in Karzai’s mindset and the US authorities too are not ready to allow him sign the agreement after the April election in Afghanistan. Hence, the meeting would not be fruitful as the US officials might have expected it.
Recently, US Secretary of State, John Kerry said that the security agreement could be signed by Afghan officials other than Karzai, for instance, Afghanistan’s defense minister, Bismillah Muhammadi. Discussing the same might be one of the issues in the Hagel’s meeting with ministers of defense and interior. That is a viable option. However, it seems unlikely that the ministers will signal any willingness to sign the agreement. Karzai’s spokesman said on Wednesday that the president will not allow any of his ministers to sign a security pact with the US unless key demands are met.
Last month, a traditional council of Afghan elders 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.
The security agreement with the US will greatly help in bringing down the graph of uncertainty about the future of Afghanistan and will put in a better position to counter terrorists and strengthen its security forces. All the new conditions recommended by the Loya Jirga can be agreed upon through negotiations. Currently, Karzai’s unwillingness to sign the BSA quickly has caused the process of talks to stop and even no meeting between him and Hegal’s has been set. It is hoped that the situation must not affect the diplomatic relations between both the countries.