Afghan Loya Jirga to decide presence of US troops after 2014

Source : KUNA

ISLAMABAD, Oct 20 (KUNA) -- A national meeting of tribal elders (Loya Jirga) is to discuss the fate of a future security deal with the US for keeping troops in Afghanistan after 2014, said Afghan officials on Sunday. A member of the convening commission, Sadeq Mudaber said that the consultative assembly of tribal elders (Loya Jirga), will kick off in the third week of November and could last a week. He expected up to 3,000 people might attend the meeting. The US State Secretary, John Kerry and President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai met last week to reach an agreement on the major elements of a deal that would allow the US to keep its troops in Afghanistan after 2014, the set period for foreign forces to depart Afghanistan. The Afghan President on Friday said, "In our recent negotiations with the US, we also discussed another important topic of immunity for US troops in Afghanistan." He said that the Loya Jirga must debate a potentially deal-breaking issue of jurisdiction over those forces before he makes a decision. President Karzai added, "The decision in this respect is beyond the capacity of the Afghan government, and only the Afghan people maintain the authority to decide on it, the Loya Jirga reflects the will of the Afghan people." The United States wants to keep as many as 10,000 troops in the country to train Afghan national security forces, but if no agreement is signed all US troops would have to leave by the end of next year. The former Afghan president Sebghatullah Mujadidi will be heading the Loya Jirga, who was initially opposing the idea of calling the meeting as the basic points had already been covered by a Strategic Partnership Agreement that Karzai signed with US President, Barack Obama last year. Most foreign troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, amid Afghan security increasing worries about the country's prospects after western forces depart. If the Loya Jirga decides not to keep the US troops in Afghanistan after 2014 then failure to reach an agreement could prompt the US to pull out all its forces at the end of 2014, an outcome known as "zero option". (end) sbk.aa KUNA 201323 Oct 13NNNN