Lawmakers continue to demand BSA review

KABUL or lower house members on Wednesday supported reconsideration of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States.

The BSA between Afghanistan and the US was signed in September 2014 soon after President Ashraf Ghani came into power.

The president had said the agreement would bring stability and welfare to the country and would secure Afghanistan and the world at large from threats posed by terrorist networks.

Under the agreement, the US will support Afghanistan if the country faces any serious external threat to its territory.

However, Wolesi Jirga first deputy speaker Hamayon Hamayon told today’s session of the lower house that 20 lawmakers had requested in written form the reconsideration of the BSA.

He said the agreement did not benefit Afghanistan in any way. “This agreement should either be executed or cancelled”, he added.

Hamayon presented the written requests from lawmakers for voting and of the 150 lawmakers present voted in favor of the BSA reconsideration.

The first deputy speaker tasked the house international affairs, internal security, defense affairs and territory integrity commissions to rethink about the agreement and refer it to the general session of the house after discussing it with permanent commissions.

He said casualties among civilians and Afghan security forces had increased and continuation of the current situation was not acceptable to the Afghans.

The Article 90 of the Constitution says, “Ratification of international treaties and agreements, or abrogation of membership of Afghanistan in them is duty of the parliament,”

A number of lawmakers and senators had earlier this week also asked for reconsideration of the BSA.

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