Afghan President Hamid Karzai has outlined a long-term strategic partnership with
the US and NATO to ensure peace in the nation torn apart by decades of war.
But
he has also stressed that the international community must respect Afghanistan’s national
sovereignty.
He was speaking to about 2 thousand delegates - mostly tribal
elders and local power brokers – who gathered yesterday amid high security at the
loya jirga in the capital Kabul.
He said it was possible some US troops would
remain in the country after the scheduled withdrawal in 2014, but said that presence
would come with strict conditions. And he called for an end to night raids by coalition
forces.
Kate Clark is from the Afghanistan Analysts Network: