Loya Jirga proceedings begin amid tight security from Pajhwok Afghan News.
KABUL (PAN): President Hamid Karzai on Thursday said he had received a letter from his American counterpart, promising respect for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and seeking protection of the US troops staying in the country after 2014. In the letter, Obama had promised US troops would enter Afghan homes only under exceptional circumstances, the president told the consultative Loya Jirga in Kabul. He hoped the jirga would take a constructive decision on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) in the supreme national interest. Karzai acknowledged the long-running trust deficit between his administration and the United States, admitting: “I don’t trust them and they have little confidence in me. I leave the decision to you when the BSA should take effect — before or after the 2014 presidential and provincial council elections.”
