President Hamid Karzai has instructed his officials to start preparing documents required for transitioning power to the new president of Afghanistan that will be elected on April 5th. For certain times over the past one year or so, the President has repeatedly made it clear that he has no intention to prolong his tenure of government by going against the constitutional law of the country. Additionally, he deems an elected government, regardless of how the election will be held, far better than an illegitimate one. This clear and yet encouraging instance of President Karzai has done much to negate expectations from some circles who accused him of having intention of extending his rule by imposing emergency condition in the country and by calling a Loya Jirga.

Political transition that will be subsequent to the upcoming presidential election will be the first in the history of Afghanistan and therefore quite important. If the transition takes place in a peaceful, smooth and democratic way, this will be another milestone for the country. Indeed, Afghanistan is standing at a very critical juncture that if processes like election and political transition are not carefully handled, risk to this country’s gains in the past decade will go much higher. Thus, for the good of the country, President Karzai must ensure all affairs are handed over to the new government without any troubles. This will greatly help Afghanistan for moving towards a better democratic future.

Although for transferring power, preparing and signing over certain documents will be necessary, there are many other important issues and challenges that will be passed to the new government automatically. The new president must deal the worst security condition, rampant corruption, growing poppy cultivation and drug trafficking, lack of good governance and many other such issues. It would be wise if the new president signs the crucial Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with United States as soon as he takes over the affairs of the country. Without entering into such an agreement, taking Afghanistan out of the current challenges will be quite difficult if not impossible.

President Hamid Karzai’s decision to prepare for transferring power to the new president is appreciable and a praiseworthy respond to the demands of the people. By doing so, he will establish a political culture in the country for which his will be remembered.