The United States has decided to keep 20,000 US and NATO troops and 100,000 US contractors at different bases in Afghanistan for its strategic interest and a security agreement between the US and Afghanistan will be inked in the next two months.
This was disclosed by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid Secretary General and Senate Committee on Defence and Defence Production Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed during a press conference at the Parliament House on Friday regarding a parliamentary delegation’s four-day visit to Kabul. The delegation, led by Mushahid, held meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other high-ups of the war-torn state.
“During the visit, we were informed that within the next two months, a bilateral security agreement between Kabul and Washington will be signed, as a result of which approximately 20,000 US and NATO troops will remain stationed at nine different bases in different parts of Afghanistan,” Mushahid said.
He also said that according to sources in Kabul, there were over 100,000 American contractors engaged in security and other related matters of Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that the number would not be affected by the 2014 NATO troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He said that during the visit, Pakistan and Afghanistan decided to “institutionlise” dialogue by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for launching talks on defence, security and military-related issues, which would pave the way for cementing defence ties between the two neighbours.
Mushahid said the two countries also issued a mutually agreed-upon joint declaration and presented a common view on problems faced by the countries. During the visit, both sides agreed that their peace, security and stability were intertwined.
Mushahid termed the committee’s visit as “first of its kind, historic, path-breaking” as the parliamentarians of both the states decided to institutionalise the first-ever dialogue on defence, security and military-related issues, he said.
Mushahid said the the delegation was unique since it was composed of leaders of five major political parties belonging to both the government and the opposition and so it represented all segments of public opinion.
“For the first time, we discussed defence, security and military related issues, which was a unique experience,” Mushahid said, adding that as a result of the visit, the next round of Pak-Afghan dialogues will be convened in Islamabad following the Afghanistan presidential elections scheduled to be held in April 2014.
