WASHINGTON: The top US negotiator in talks to secure a long-term security deal with Afghanistan has warned that President Hamid Karzai is unlikely to sign the agreement on time, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The assessment was made in recent days by United States Ambassador James Cunningham in a classified cable, after President Barack Obama’s administration repeatedly extended the deadline for the agreement, originally due to be signed early last fall. White House spokesman Jay Carney said this week that the deal must be signed within “weeks and not months.” “The clock is ticking,” he said. But he said he did not expect Karzai to agree to sign the document before presidential elections set to be held in April.
US-Afghan ties hit a new low in recent months after Karzai made a surprise decision not to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement promptly, despite having vowed to do so. The BSA would see several thousand US troops remain in Afghanistan to provide training and assistance after the Nato combat mission ends in December.
Signing the BSA is a precondition for the delivery of billions of dollars in Western aid for Afghanistan. “We continue to urge President Karzai to sign the BSA promptly,” a senior State Department official told the Post when asked about Cunningham’s cable.
Sindh bans pillion riding
KARACHI: The Sindh Home Department has banned pillion riding until January 15, Geo News said yesterday. According to a notification, the ban took effect at midnight yesterday, in view of Eid Milad-un-Nabi on 12 Rabiul Awwal. The government has also banned carrying and exhibiting weapons and cancelled special permits to carry arms until January 15. Agencies
