Afghan president advocates having strategic partnership with U.S.

Afghan president advocates having strategic partnership with U.S.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Wednesday said that having strategic partnership with the United States would benefit Afghanistan.

"Having strategic relations with the United States is in the benefit of Afghanistan, but we have preconditions in this regard. Our conditions are that the United States and NATO forces should stop searching Afghan houses and night operations, should halt having parallel establishments with Afghan administration and should respect our national sovereignty from now on," Karzai said in his speech at the Loya Jirga or traditional grand assembly.

The parallel establishments, according to Afghan officials, mean that the U.S. and NATO-run civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and private security firms run by foreigners.

President Karzai had in the past criticized the PRTs and night raid operations, calling on NATO-led forces to stop searching houses and harming civilians during military operations.

"Our relations with U.S. should be based in equity and be a relations between two sovereign independent countries," Karzai told the audience in his hour-long address.

In his speech, the Afghan president described Afghans as "lion" and said, although the United States is a powerful and wealthy country dealing with the lion, the lion does not like anyone to kill or take away its kids.

In parts of his speech, the Afghan President pointed out that Afghanistan in spite of having strategic partnership with the United States would also have friendly relations with its neighbors, with China, Russia and assured that "Afghan soil would not be used against anyone".

More than 2,500 people including tribal elders, lawmakers and government functionaries, according to officials, attended the assembly to discuss the proposed strategic partnership with the United States of America and government-initiated peace talks with the Taliban and other armed opposition groups in the militancy- plagued country.

"Any decisions taken by the Jirga participants would be respected and implemented," said Karzai.

The decisions, taken by the four-day Loya Jirga would be forwarded to parliament for ratification.

English.news.cn   2011-11-16 16:09:19 FeedbackPrintRSS
KABUL, Nov. 16 (Xinhua)