KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday that up to 15,000 foreign forces could stay in Afghanistan after 2014 if a security deal between Afghanistan and the United States is signed.
Meanwhile, a meeting of over 2,500 Afghan chiefs is being held in Kabul today to discuss bilateral security agreement with the US which will determine the presence of US troops in the country after 2014.
Karzai said that forces which could stay in Afghanistan include US and other NATO members, as well as Turkey or some other Muslim countries.
The Afghan President said that he expected the agreement to lead to peace in his war-torn country. He said that the deal must bring peace to Afghanistan, adding that he was aware that the US can bring peace.
Both the Afghan government and the United States have already finalized terms of the agreements‚ which specifies responsibilities of US troops remaining in Afghanistan after 2014.
According to the draft, the Afghan government concedes that US forces that remain in Afghanistan after 2014 will be under the jurisdiction of the US and not be subject to Afghan courts.
US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed that both the US and Afghanistan have agreed to finalize the agreement‚ under which the remaining US troops will have a very limited role and they will have to train and equip the Afghan forces and assist them.
