Kabul, April 12: The US plans to keep its military bases in Afghanistan by reaching a strategic agreement with Kabul, but President Hamid Karzai vows a tough stance against the plan.
Karzai said Washington has presented a draft document on strategic relations which is still under review.
He added that his government would convene a traditional grand assembly — Loya Jirga — within two to three months to decide whether to sign the agreement.
“The first condition of this strategic partnership is that they should bring us peace,” Karzai told a press conference in Kabul on Monday.
“We have put forward many conditions and we have tied their hands and feet,” he added.
About 150,000 NATO troops are currently fighting in Afghanistan with plans to stay in the country beyond 2014.
This is while US President Barack Obama had pledged a major drawdown from Afghanistan by July 2011. Analysts have described the new transition dates as a devastating truth for Americans.
The Pentagon has admitted in a recent report that the US has failed to establish security in Afghanistan.
According to official figures, at least 2,402 US-led soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion of the country.
The increase in the casualties of US-led foreign forces has raised opposition to the Afghan war in countries which have contributed troops to the mission.
Afghans have frequently held rallies, calling on foreign troops to leave their country.
——–Agencies