Afghan President Hamid Karzai (right) in a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday.
KABUL: US Secretary of State John Kerry held a second round of talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul yesterday after they put on a public show of unity to repair damaged ties.
Kerry visited Afghanistan as the US ceded to a long-standing demand of Karzai by delivering full control of Bagram prison, where Taliban and Al Qaeda suspects are held, to Afghan forces.
Karzai had turned the fate of Bagram and its detainees into a rallying cry for his push to take back sovereignty as the bulk of US-led combat troops prepare to leave by the end of 2014 after more than a decade of war.
After fiery anti-US outbursts from Karzai in recent weeks, he and Kerry were keen to make a public display of friendship and stress that relations were back on track. “Bagram prison was handed over to the Afghan government... Finally after many years of effort we have reached a deal,” Karzai said at a joint press conference.
Kerry said: “The US is committed to an enduring partnership... The US supports a strong and united Afghanistan. We are committed to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and we will not let Al Qaeda or the Taliban shake this commitment.”
Earlier this month, Karzai accused the US of working in concert with the Taliban and his spokesman described the Nato war effort as “aimless and unwise”, triggering fury from Afghanistan’s backers.
Kerry said he was confident that Karzai “does not believe that the US has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace”.
Karzai said: “I was interpreted as saying the US and Taliban are colluding, but I did not use this word.”
Afghan forces are gradually taking on responsibility for battling the Taliban as most of the 100,000 foreign troops prepare to exit. Karzai is due to step down next year, 13 years after he came to power with US backing when the Taliban regime was ousted in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks of 2001.
Kerry emphasised the importance of a credible poll in 2014, and paid tribute to Afghan lawmakers, rights activists and election officials. “You’re engaged in a remarkable effort and the whole world is watching,” he told them before he left Kabul.
Karzai’s outbursts led many US commentators to call for Washington to take a tougher stance towards Kabul. Karzai in past weeks also demanded US special forces leave the flashpoint province of Wardak and banned international troops from university campuses due to unproven harassment claims.
The US was concerned that the handover of Bagram to Afghan forces would allow suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda detainees to return to the battlefield.
But a final agreement was sealed on Saturday and a handover ceremony was held at the jail shortly before Kerry landed in Afghanistan. AGENCIES
