President calls deal new chapter in ties with US

KABUL): President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday said the signing of the strategic pact with the US had opened a new chapter in bilateral relations.

In a meeting with interior ministry officials at the Presidential Palace, Karzai said Afghanistan was as sovereign and independent as the US under the long-awaited agreement.

After the accord on Afghanising nighttime operations, it was the responsibility of Afghan forces to protect their compatriots, the president said in a statement from his office.

“If we fight terrorism on the one hand, we should protect the houses of people on the other,” the statement quoted Karzai as saying. He asked security personnel to act in a way that Afghans viewed them as guards of their houses.

“If Afghans are mistreated or if an innocent person is killed, it will be our fault, not of Americans, who respect our constitution and national sovereignty,” the president remarked.

frm/mud

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