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In Afghanistan, Loya Jirga-- or the grand assembly of tribal elders-- has approved a controversial security pact with the US. But the president has refused to sign it. Karzai made the remarks in the final hours of Loya Jirga. He said to guarantee peace, a free and fair vote is needed and therefore Washington should not meddle in the April elections. Karzai also noted that Americans don\'t have the right to raid Aghans\' homes and if they do it once more, there will be no agreement. However, the US has praised Loya Jirga\'s decision and urged Karzai to sign the pact before the end of 2014. If signed, the agreement will allow thousands of US troops to stay in the country beyond 2014. It also gives them immunity from prosecution under Afghan law.

The Taliban are angry at Afghanistan\'s assembly of elders, or Loya Jirga after it endorsed a security deal with the US. In a statement, the militants condemned the deal as a QUOTE- pact of slavery. The statement also said the deal would benefit neither side. The deal now has to go to the Afghan parliament for approval. The Bilateral Security Agreement, or B-S-A allows the US troops to stay in Afghanistan after NATO pulls out in 2014. Afghan president Hamid Karzai has said the deal won\'t be signed until after the 2014 election. The US has urged Karzai to sign the pact as soon as possible- a demand rejected by the Afghan president.

[14 Oct 2013] Loya Jirga to decide on US-Afghan security deal - English

Afghan tribal elders have convened in the capital Kabul to debate the fate of the US forces in the war-torn country beyond 2014. The participants in the gathering known as Loya Jirga are discussing the draft of a long-awaited bilateral security deal between Kabul and Washington. The draft agreed on Wednesday appears to meet US demands on some thorny issues. Among them are US troops\' unilateral operations, their authority to enter Afghan homes and immunity from prosecution. In his opening speech at the meeting, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said 15000 foreign forces would remain in Afghanistan if the deal is inked. The presence of US-led forces in Afghanistan has generated deep anti-US sentiments among Afghans who accuse Washington of violating their country\'s sovereignty and killing civilians.

The grand assembly of Afghan tribal elders and politicians has endorsed a controversial security pact with the United States. The Loya Jirga members have called on the Afghan president to sign the deal by the end of the year. But Hamid Karzai says he will only sign the agreement if the US brings peace to Afghanistan. The announcements were made on the final day of intensive talks among tribal elders who were tasked with deciding the fate of the deal. The security deal allows the US to keep thousands of its troops in Afghanistan beyond the 20-14 withdrawal date.

The grand assembly of Afghan tribal elders and politicians has endorsed a controversial security pact with the United States. The Loya Jirga members have called on the Afghan president to sign the deal by the end of the year. But Hamid Karzai says he will only sign the agreement if the US brings peace to Afghanistan. The announcements were made on the final day of intensive talks among tribal elders who were tasked with deciding the fate of the deal. The security deal allows the US to keep thousands of its troops in Afghanistan beyond the 20-14 withdrawal date.

The Afghan government is to hold a Loya Jirga or grand assembly in the coming days to decide whether or not a security deal should be signed with the US. This deal-- if signed, will allow American forces to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014. But opposition to the pact is mounting. Political and religious parties are holding gatherings to voice their dissatisfaction with the presence of US troops.

The Loya Jirga starting Thursday in Kabul will be a four-day affair. Thousands of delegates have already arrived for the meeting. They will sit down and decide on a much hyped security deal with Washington. But criticism is mounting over the pact with many politicians, like Saeed Alemi Balkhi, are even opposed to the jirga saying thid is not legally binding.

A senior Afghan official says President Hamid Karzai has rejected a provision of a security pact with the United States just days before the country\'s elders gather to debate it. Media outlets have quoted the official as saying that Karzai has rejected the enter-and-search provision. The question of whether foreign troops will be allowed to search Afghan homes after their combat mission ends next year has long been a sticking point of the Kabul-Washington deal. The final draft will be discussed by the Loya Jirga, an assembly of tribal elders, later this week. Karzai has already announced that if the Loya Jirga does not approve the deal, it will not be signed. Last month, the United States and Afghanistan hammered out a draft deal that allows thousands of U-S troops to stay in the country beyond 2014.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has given a thumbs up to extend the presence of US troops beyond 2014. However he has also said that the Loya Jirga or the assembly of elders must approve the security pact between Kabul and Washington. Many Afghan citizens want Washington to leave their country. The central issue for the assembly is the issue of immunity for American troops that will remain in the country after the withdrawal of its allies\' forces by the end of 2014. What will this do to Afghanistan? And why does the US want to stay in Afghanistan, when more and more Americans are dissatisfied with the deteriorating socio-economic conditions back home?

A large number of Afghans have staged a rally in the eastern city of Jalalabad to show their opposition to a possible security deal with the United States. Protesters say American forces are responsible for the deaths of many civilians in their country. Demonstrators also called on the participants of the Loya Jirga to reject a possible agreement. The Jirga is a gathering of elders from across Afghanistan which will decide on the fate of the deal next week. The deal between Kabul and Washington will allow thousands of American troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond 20-14. The issue of whether or not to grant legal immunity to American forces remains a sticking point.

Hundreds of Afghan people including students, have held demonstrations in the eastern province of Nangarhar against a possible security pact with the US. The protesters chanted anti-US slogans and blocked a key road between Kabul and the city of Jalalabad. They warned the Afghan elders and politicians against signing the deal, saying they do not represent the Afghan people. Afghanistan\'s grand assembly or Loya Jirga is slated to hold discussions on the controversial deal on Thursday. Meanwhile, scores of people gathered for a meeting in Kabul to voice their opposition to any deal that will prolong the US military presence in their country.

A top White House official says Washington does not need to apologize to Afghanistan for over a decade of killing and injuring civilians in the war-torn country. National Security Advisor Susan Rice made the remarks following reports that US President Barack Obama would apologize for the United States\' mistakes. Earlier, an Afghan presidential spokesman said that as a part of the Washington-Kabul security pact, the U-S would write a letter admitting the errors it made during its war in Afghanistan. But according to Rice, no letter has been drafted and it is off the table. Meanwhile, a group of Afghan elders known as the Loya Jirga will discuss the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement between the two countries on Thursday. If confirmed, the strategic partnership deal will allow US troops to stay in the country beyond the 2014 planned pullout and grant them immunity from prosecution in Afghanistan.

Washington and Kabul have agreed on a final version of a security pact under which American troops would be allowed to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Afghanistan\'s assembly of the elders known as the Loya Jirga will meet Thursday to vote on the pact, known as the Bilateral Security Agreement.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he\'s willing to delay the signing of a deal with the US, known as the Bilateral Security Agreement, or BSA. Karzai told Afghanistan\'s assembly of elders, called Loya Jirga, that the deal will not be signed by the president until after next year\'s presidential election. This, as the Jirga has met today to discuss the BSA. Under the pact, American troops would be allowed to remain in Afghanistan beyond a 2014 deadline. Kabul has agreed to US military operations under special circumstances and American troops\' immunity from prosecution in Afghanistan. But, ordinary Afghans are angry over raids by American and other foreign troops. And they have held protests against the security deal with the US.

Washington and Kabul have agreed on a final version of a security pact under which American troops would be allowed to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Afghanistan\'s assembly of the elders known as the Loya Jirga will meet Thursday to vote on the pact, known as the Bilateral Security Agreement.

Afghanistan rejects the U-S demand that Kabul sign a security deal between the two countries as soon as possible. A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the agreement must wait until after next year\'s presidential election, even if it\'s approved by the Loya Jirga and the parliament. This, after the White House said Karzai\'s failure to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement, or B-S-A, by the end of this year would prevent Washington and its allies from planning for post-20-14 presence in Afghanistan. On Thursday, Karzai said he was willing to delay the signing of the B-S-A until after next year\'s presidential election. However, ordinary Afghans are angry over raids by American and other foreign troops. And they\'ve held protests against the security deal with the U-S.

U-S national security adviser Susan Rice is in Afghanistan to meet with President Hamid Karzai. The visit comes a day after the US-Afghan security pact was thrown into limbo after Karzai refused to sign it. Karzai has told the assembly of tribal elders, known as the Loya Jirga, that the deal should not be signed until after presidential elections in April. The grand assembly had approved the bilateral agreement to keep US forces in the country after 2014. The US says a deal has to be agreed by the end of the year. But Karzai says Washington has to prove its good intentions by keeping its soldiers out of Afghan homes and promoting peace talks with the Taliban.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused the US of refusing to provide his country with military supplies. He has said in a statement that the move is aimed to put pressure on him to sign a controversial security pact with the US. Washington has denied the allegation, and repeated that, unless the deal is signed promptly, it could withdraw most of American forces from Afghanistan. Relations between Kabul and Washington have deteriorated in recent weeks over President Karzai\'s refual to sign the security pact. The deal allows several thousands of US troops to remain in Afghanistan after a 2014 pullout deadline for foreign forces. Karzai has set several conditions to sign the pact which has been approved by the country\'s grand council, Loya Jirga. These include a stop to raids on Afghan civilian homes, among others.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused the U-S of refusing to provide his country with fuel and military supplies. He has said in a statement that the move is aimed to put pressure on him to sign a controversial security pact with the U-S. Washington has denied the allegation, and repeated that, unless the deal is signed promptly, it could withdraw most of American forces from Afghanistan. Relations between Kabul and Washington have deteriorated in recent weeks over President Karzai\'s refual to sign the security pact. The deal allows several thousands of U-S troops to remain in Afghanistan after a 20-14 pullout deadline for foreign forces. Karzai has set several conditions to sign the pact which has been approved by the country\'s grand council, Loya Jirga. These include a stop to raids on Afghan civilian homes, among others.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused the U-S of refusing to provide his country with fuel and military supplies. He has said in a statement that the move is aimed to put pressure on him to sign a controversial security pact with the U-S. Washington has denied the allegation, and repeated that, unless the deal is signed promptly, it could withdraw most of American forces from Afghanistan. Relations between Kabul and Washington have deteriorated in recent weeks over President Karzai\'s refual to sign the security pact. The deal allows several thousands of U-S troops to remain in Afghanistan after a 20-14 pullout deadline for foreign forces. Karzai has set several conditions to sign the pact which has been approved by the country\'s grand council, Loya Jirga. These include a stop to raids on Afghan civilian homes, among others.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen says Afghan President Hamid Karzai will likely leave the signing of a security pact with the US to his successor. Rasmussen says he believes that Karzai will not sign the long-stalled pact until April\'s presidential election. The deal would allow American troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the withdrawal deadline of the end of 2014. Rasmussen has acknowledged that NATO expects a separate pact with Kabul which would be impossible without a deal with the U-S. Back in November, Karzai told an assembly of elders known as the Loya Jirga that he will not sign the deal until certain conditions are met. He\'s demanded that the US immediately stop its military operations on Afghan homes.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen says Afghan President Hamid Karzai will likely leave the signing of a security pact with the US to his successor. Rasmussen says he believes that Karzai will not sign the long-stalled pact until April\'s presidential election. The deal would allow American troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the withdrawal deadline of the end of 2014. Rasmussen has acknowledged that NATO expects a separate pact with Kabul which would be impossible without a deal with the US. Back in November, Karzai told an assembly of elders known as the Loya Jirga that he will not sign the deal until certain conditions are met. He\'s demanded that the US immediately stop its military operations on Afghan homes.