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US-Afghanistan agree security pact

Afghanistan's president said he backs a security deal with the United States but told a gathering of elders that if they and parliament approve the agreement it should be signed after next spring's elections.

Hamid Karzai's abrupt decision to defer signing the agreement until after the April 5 elections came even as he said he supported the Bilateral Security Agreement in a speech to the 2,500-member national consultative council known as the Loya Jirga.

Such a development could be a potential deal breaker as the United States has said it wants an agreement as soon as possible to allow planners in the United States and Nato to prepare for a military presence after 2014, when the majority of foreign combat forces will have left Afghanistan. The US had wanted a deal signed by the end of October.

"If you accept it and Parliament passes it, the agreement should be signed when the election is conducted, properly and with dignity," Mr Karzai said.

Such a move would show America's assurance "that we are moving on the path to security and they are accompanying us on this path".

Government officials and the president's office were not immediately available to comment on the unforeseen development, which came just a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry said he and Mr Karzai had agreed on the language of the Bilateral Security Agreement.

The Loya Jirga can revise or reject any clause of the draft agreement. Whatever they agree upon then goes to the Afghan parliament, which could make still more changes before the agreement is approved.

The Jirga will hold a series of closed-door meetings until Sunday, when it makes its suggestions on the security deal to Mr Karzai.

On the US side, only the administration of President Barack Obama needs to approve the agreement, but it could reject changes made by Afghan officials. If it does, that leaves open the option for the US to pull all troops out of Afghanistan. The same could happen if the deal is not signed in a timely manner.

Such was the case in Iraq, when the US and Iraq couldn't agree on terms of a security arrangement. Sectarian violence has plagued Iraq since, and some fear Afghanistan could follow that path without a continued US presence if Afghan forces cannot defend the country themselves.

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