Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he will not submit in pressure to sign the agreement allowing 12,000 US troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 in an interview with an Indian channel on Friday.
“Aggressive rhetoric won’t work… We are not a nation that is known for giving into intimidation,” he said in an interview with the Indian channel.
“We will sign it when we feel sure that our signature will bring peace and security,” he added.
Karzai was on a three day visit to India where he was to meet with the Indian PM Manmohan Singh and the Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid.
American was hopeful of India to play a role in the signing of the pact by Afghanistan.
Testifying before a Senate committee this week, a senior US official said he hoped India could help persuade Karzai to sign agreement.
“His upcoming visit to India could, I think, be quite influential, because he highly respects and has good relations with the Indian government,” said James Dobbins, the US special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Karzai had endorsed the pact in the start but later conditioned the signing to the April 2014 presidential elections’ aftermath. His stance outraged US which threatened a complete pullout if Karzai does not sign by the end of the year.