KABUL - A number of Afghan MPs and Senators said on Sunday that the government should not worry itself with the concerns of neighboring countries when it comes to signing the Kabul-Washington Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA).

Rumors of anxiety amongst officials in Islamabad and Tehran over the prospect of a continued U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan post-2014 circulated in recent weeks. But the National Assembly representatives on Sunday argued the BSA should be signed for the national interests of Afghanistan and nothing else mattered.

"These neighboring countries were involved in creating Afghanistan's insecurity," said Second Deputy of the Afghan Senate Rafiullah Gul Ahmad. "If we make a careful decision on the signing of the security agreement, no one can interfere...the signing of this agreement is very important for Afghanistan."

MPs agreed that if the security pact is not signed, a decision that has been left up to a Loya Jirga to be convened by President Hamid Karzai in 12 days, the country could face "crisis and civil war."

The BSA is expected to lock-in a residual presence of U.S. troops to continue to trains, advise and assist Afghan forces. Reportedly, U.S. military aid to Afghanistan would also be tied to the agreement.

Meanwhile, a number of MPs added to criticisms that have been launched against President Karzai since he announced he would leave the fate of the BSA up to the Loya Jirga, a traditional deliberative gathering composed in this case of 2,500 leaders from around the country. They said Karzai was holding the Loya Jirga to serve his own interests.

"The holding of the Loya Jirga means nothing, because it's against the country's constitution and President Karzai is holding this Jirga for his own political interests," said the head of Parliament's Defense Committee Hamayoun Hamayoun. "The people should think about the countries national interest."

After U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a surprise visit to Kabul over two weeks ago to meet with Karzai, the two leaders announced that most of the BSA had been discussed and agreed upon. However, the contentious issue of "troop immunity," which would give either the U.S. or Afghanistan criminal jurisdiction over American troops post-2014, was said to remained unresolved.

U.S. officials said if their conditions weren't met on the jurisdiction issue then the entire agreement could be in jeopardy, which Karzai responded to by deferring the matter explicitly to the Jirga.

"If this agreement is not signed with the U.S. it will have bad implications for the country," said a member of Parliament's Defense Committee. "Afghanistan will once again fall back into civil war and will be the same as Iraq."

The debate over jurisdiction over U.S. residual forces proved a deal breaker when a similar security pact was being negotiated between U.S. and Iraqi officials back in 2011.

The Loya Jirga is expected to be held in 12 days on the campus of the Polytechnic University in Kabul. (Tolo News)