Afghan parliament approves strategic security pact with U.S.
Saturday, 26 May 2012
President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to Kabul to sign a deal with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai that will cement post-war ties with Kabul after 2014, when NATO-led combat forces leave Afghanistan
By Al Arabiya with Agencies
Afghanistan’s parliament on Saturday voted by an overwhelming majority to ratify a strategic partnership agreement with the United States signed earlier this month, lawmakers said.
“This was done for the interest of Afghanistan,” said Daoud Kalakani, an lawmaker from Kabul. Around 180 MPs were present and only four voted against, Kalakani said.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to Kabul to sign a deal with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai that will cement post-war ties with Kabul after 2014, when NATO-led combat forces leave Afghanistan.
Most of the contentious parts of the pact, which could have seen the obstructive parliament reject the deal, had earlier been removed and dealt with separately, including giving Afghans control of controversial night raids on homes and prisons used to detain insurgents
The pact foresees the possibility of American forces staying behind to train Afghan soldiers and pursue the remnants of al-Qaeda but does not commit Washington to specific troop or funding levels.
