ISLAMABAD - Afghanistan has signed long-delayed security pacts with the United States and NATO to authorize deployment of a small international military force in the country after the end of the year. The Taliban has rejected the deal as “shameful and shocking.”
The signing ceremony took place in Kabul’s presidential palace where Afghan national security advisor Hanif Atmar and American Ambassador James Cunningham inked the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The Afghan advisor then signed a similar document with NATO’s civilian representative to the country.
Afghanistan's new president, Ashraf Ghani, authorized the ratifications a day after taking office, thus quickly fulfilling one of his election promises. He later addressed the special gathering to defend the agreements, saying the right to use force will be based on decisions by the Afghan government and foreign forces will not be able to enter mosques or other holy sites around the country.
“On this day, Afghanistan has obtained its complete national sovereignty because until now the right to use military force in our homeland was authorized by a United Nations Security Council [resolution]," he said, adding that the agreements will also end civilian casualties and detentions of Afghans by foreign forces, citing them as two major Afghan concerns.
President Ghani also allayed fears of neighboring countries, saying they should not feel threatened because of the security pacts. He said that they are signed for the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan and to defend it against terrorist networks that have become a source of threat for the country and the world at large. The Afghan leader went on to say that the agreements do not allow use or deployment of chemical and nuclear weapons in Afghanistan.
Ghani's political rival Abdullah Abdullah, now Chief Executive of the country following a post-election power-sharing agreement, also attended the signing.
Ambassador Cunningham said that the BSA was the choice of the Afghan people decided via their newly elected leadership.
"It is a choice by Afghanistan to consolidate international support as the Afghan people work for a more secure and prosperous future," Cunningham said. "It is a choice by the United States to continue cooperating with our Afghan partners on two important security missions: training and equipping Afghan forces and supporting cooperation against terrorism."
President Barack Obama praised the deal Tuesday, saying "the BSA reflects our continued commitment to support the new Afghan Unity Government, and we look forward to working with this new government to cement an enduring partnership that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability, unity, and prosperity, and that contributes to our shared goal of defeating al-Qaida and its extremist affiliates."
Afghanistan’s ambassador to neighboring Pakistan, Janan Mosazai, told VOA the security agreements will deepen already strong ties with the United States and the global partners.
“This is a significant day, it was a significant event," he said. "We have had a long-term strategic relationship with the United States and also with NATO and these two agreements will further entrench those strategic partnerships. They will allow for a follow-on presence of support missions both by the United States and also by NATO in terms of continued funding of the Afghan National Security Forces, but also in terms of continuing the training, advice and other support to our national security forces.”
By the time the security deal expires in 2024, Mosazai said, the goal is for his country's economy to be strong enough to reduce the level of international support for its military.
Under the two documents Afghanistan signed Tuesday, around 12,000 military personnel, mostly Americans, will stay in the country after 2014 when the current NATO-led combat mission ends. The U.S. military will also be able to retain Afghan bases to continue counterterrorism operations.
Negotiations between Kabul and Washington over the text of the Bilateral Security Agreement were completed a year ago but Ghani’s predecessor, Hamid Karzai, refused to sign it, citing anger over civilian deaths and an alleged lack of U.S. interest in helping his government negotiate peace with the Taliban.
Former assistant secretary of state for South Asian Affairs Karl Inderfurth told VOA's Afghan service that Tuesday's deal was an "important new start" for the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship, which had soured in recent years.