Immunity for foreign troops unlikely after 2014

KABUL-led troops.

Karzai said he informed on Friday a NATO delegation, led by Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Afghan nation might not “permit their government to grant immunity” to foreign troops.

The ongoing security transition process, training and equipping Afghan forces, the type of NATO mission after 2014 and western media’s misreporting about the country came up for discussion at the meeting.

If war continued after 2014 and Afghanistan’s borders stayed insecure, the nation would not allow his government to provide immunity to foreign troops, Karzai said, adding the people linked foreign troops’ indemnity to peace and stability.

 “Although our people are poor, their priority is national sovereignty and peace,” Karzai said in a statement from the Presidential Palace.

Rasmussen supported the presidential stance on a recent report of the International Crisis Group (ICG) about Afghanistan’s future, and said it did not depict a true picture of the country.

The international community and NATO would remain committed to Afghanistan for the long term and their mission after 2014 would focus on training, advising and supporting Afghan security forces, Rasmussen said.

“The improvement of Afghan security personnel is a matter of pride for all of us and shows their capability of leading security of the entire country by the end of 2014,” the statement quoted the NATO chief as saying.

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