Politics

Afghanistan to hold Jirga on Strategic Pact with USA in Mid-Nov.

Xinhua
Friday, 28-October-2011

 

KABUL: More than 2,000 Afghan government officials and elders are scheduled to meet in mid-November in capital Kabul to discuss the pros and cons of an Afghan-US strategic cooperation pact, local media reported on Tuesday.

The traditional Loya Jirga, convening at the Polytechnic University in Kabul, would also confer on a mechanism for peace negotiations with Afghan insurgents, local newspaper Daily Outlook Afghanistan quoted a spokeswoman for the Jirga commission as saying.

Safia Siddiqui indicated the participants might also take up other issues related to peace and stability.

Participants, who will arrive in the capital four days ahead of the event, will be briefed on the objective behind the grand assembly. Beginning on Nov. 16, the deliberations will continue for four days, according to the report.

All sitting parliamentarians, some former MPs, 30 percent members of each provincial council, representatives of civil society and special people, religious scholars and influential tribal elders will attend the Jirga.

She said 230 representatives of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Iran, the United States, Canada and several European countries would also be in attendance. The Jirga, to be also attended by Cabinet ministers and foreign dignitaries as guests, will involve 2,030 people -- 25 percent of them women.

Safeguarding Afghanistan's national interests, an end to nighttime military operations, strict restrictions on international soldiers to avoid harming civilians and legalizing their presence are some of the core conditions set by the government for signing the agreement. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said a draft agreement handed by the US will be sent to Parliament for approval after being discussed by the Jirga.

On September 13, Karzai's national security advisor told lawmakers the U.S. might set up military bases in Afghanistan after the signing of the accord. Testifying before senators after his return from a visit to the US, he said the pact would not be inked unless approved by Parliament.

Senior U.S. officials evinced no interest in having permanent bases in Afghanistan during the three meetings he held with them, Spanta said. But to train and assist Afghan forces, Americans might establish military centers in the country, he indicated.

Night raids and US-controlled jails posed a key hurdle to the agreement, Spanta pointed out, "Our objective is to establish a government based on rule of law and will not allow anyone to run a parallel set-up."

"Concerns of our neighbors (about the agreement) are genuine, but we will not allow our soil to be used against them," Spanta promised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

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