DHAKA: Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Saturday called on the Taliban and their allies to join an assembly on a security pact that could allow some US troops to stay in the country after 2014.

Around 2,500 tribal elders and civil leaders are expected to take part in an assembly known as a ‘loya jirga’ next Thursday, to decide whether to accept the draft Bilateral Security Agreement between Afghanistan and the US.

‘We invite them, please come to this national jirga of Afghanistan, raise your voice, raise your objection... and share your views,’ he told a news conference in Kabul, reports The Straits Times.

The draft pact was hammered out in Kabul last month during a visit by US state secretary John Kerry. But he left without a final deal as Afghan president Hamid Karzai said only a jirga had the authority to decide the contentious issues.

BDST: 1630 HRS, NOV 16, 2013
RoR/BSK