On Monday 20th January, the residents of central Bamiyan province became the first ones to march in favor of Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States. The participants of the march who held placards reading as ‘BSA is a national and international need,’ demanded President Hamid Karzai to immediately finalize the agreement so that the country can be saved from falling into further political and economic turmoil.

The participants also issued a resolution emphasizing the President to sign the agreement as this is the want of the people of Afghanistan. For successful election in April, political transition and continuation of international support to reconstruction, peace and economic development of Afghanistan, the resolution termed the security deal as pivotal.

The voice in favor of BSA comes from a province that has been the most peaceful over the last 12 years and its people have efficiently taken part in the new democratic process in the country. Although Bamiyan, as compared to many other provinces, has gained negligible benefits from the hefty amounts of international funds poured in Afghanistan in the last decade, they believe that at least continuation of the current situation is far better than Taliban’s rule.

During their government, the Taliban massacred thousands of innocent people in Bamiyan on ethnic and religious grounds. They also destructed the historical Buddha statues situated in this province. Bamiyan and its people suffered the most during the Taliban regime.

By marching in favor of BSA, the people of Bamiyan have established that they want peace in their lives and in the lives of all the people of Afghanistan. Complete withdrawal of international troops would mean putting all the current gains of the country at the risk of being lost.

President Hamid Karzai, however, remains firm to his decision and there is no indication that he will sign the BSA in coming days or weeks. This is in contradiction to the decision of loya jirga and the wants of the people of Afghanistan. Karzai has set formal initiation of peace talks with Taliban as a pre-condition for signing the agreement, albeit Taliban have been deceiving the Afghan government and its international backers in the name of peace talks for the past four years. 

Uncertainty about the future is mounting. Decline in economic activities can easily be observed and there are hundreds of programs, projects and investment plans pending due to ambiguous fate of the security agreement. If the delay persists, people in other provinces might also follow the line of the people of Bamiyan.