Afghan elders gather to debate security pact with U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net - More than 2,000 Afghan elders have begun their grand assembly to discuss the text of a long-awaited bilateral security agreement with the U.S., BBC News reports.

The deal to be debated at the Loya Jirga will determine the presence of U.S. troops in the country after 2014.

One of the key issues has been the circumstances under which U.S. troops could enter Afghan homes. Another possible stumbling block is whether U.S. troops will be subject to U.S. or Afghan justice.

A draft reportedly says the Afghan government concedes that U.S. troops will be subject to U.S. justice rather than local courts.

Washington has said that all its troops would be withdrawn if no legal immunity is agreed.

Opening the Loya Jirga, 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.

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 President Karzai presents the text to the Loya Jirga, the BBC says.

The agreement has been the subject of months of tense negotiations and both sides have refused to budge on certain issues.

The Afghans have long opposed U.S. raids on Afghan homes, particularly night raids because they are perceived to violate the sanctity of women in the home.

The U.S. insistence on immunity from prosecution for troops remaining in Afghanistan after 2014 has been central to Washington's demands.

The failure to resolve a similar legal issue in Iraq led to a total withdrawal of U.S. forces.

President Karzai said he called the Loya Jirga because the security agreement is a matter of national importance. Even if the assembly approves the bilateral security agreement, it will still have to be passed by the Afghan parliament.

The Taliban has branded the meeting a U.S.-designed plot, and has vowed to pursue and punish its delegates as traitors if they approve the deal.

The bulk of the international military force in Afghanistan is due to have left by the end of 2014.