U.S.-Afghan Security Pact Still Conflicted

Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai addresses a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, November 16, 2013

It remains uncertain whether Washington and Kabul have agreed on a final version of a security pact covering the status of U.S. troops who remain after the drawdown of foreign forces at the end of 2014.

Aimal Faizi, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, told reporters in Kabul on November 19 that both sides had agreed to a deal giving U.S. troops immunity from Afghan law and allowing them to enter Afghan homes under exceptional circumstances only.

But U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington that no final text has yet been agreed.

The so-called Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) is due to be debated by a Loya Jirga, an assembly of elders, beginning Thursday, before it is put before the Afghan parliament for possible approval.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP