More than 2,000 Afghan elders have begun their loya jirga (grand assembly) on Thursday to discuss the text of a long-awaited bilateral security agreement with the US.
The deal, to be debated at the loya jirga, will determine the presence of US troops in the country after 2014.
One of the key issues has been the circumstances under which US troops could enter Afghan homes.
Another possible stumbling block is whether US troops will be subject to US or Afghan justice.
A draft reportedly says the Afghan government concedes that US troops will be subject to US justice rather than local courts.
Washington has said that all its troops would be withdrawn if no legal immunity is agreed.
Opening the jirga, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the only issue on the table was whether the security agreement would be signed.
“It has no other agenda and I hope that no other agenda will be discussed in it,” he said.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said his team had agreed the text of the agreement with Afghan officials.
“There were some people who may have questioned or doubted whether that was going to happen. Well, it’s happening tomorrow,” Kerry told reporters at the State Department.
“We have agreed on the language that would be submitted to the loya jirga, but they have to pass it.”
He said the role of the US military after 2014 would be “limited”.
“It is entirely train, equip and assist. There is no combat role for US forces, and the bilateral security agreement is a way to try to clarify for Afghans and for United States military forces exactly what the rules are with respect to that ongoing relationship,” he said.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry published a draft deal on its website, but it was not immediately clear if it was same one that Kerry was referring to.
With many delegates unable to read, much depends on how Karzai presents the text to the loya jirga.
The agreement has been the subject of months of tense negotiations and both sides have refused to budge on certain issues.
