Thousands of Afghan elders to decide if U.S. troops stay or go.
(Reuters) - Thousands of Afghan tribal and political leaders will gather in the Afghan capital this week to decide whether to allow U.S. troops to stay after the 2014 drawdown of foreign forces.
The fate of a U.S.-Afghan security deal that will determine whether U.S. forces stay or not is in the hands of 2,500 tribal chieftains and notables who will meet in a giant tent on Thursday for five days of deliberations.
Security was tight in Kabul ahead of the Loya Jirga, a traditional Afghan grand assembly convened to debate matters of national importance, following a suicide bomb attack outside the tent over the weekend.
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Karzai floated the idea of a grand council in order to muster popular support for a security deal opposed by many Afghan politicians and ordinary people.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/19/uk-afghanistan-loyajirga-idUKBRE9AI0AO20131119
Lawmaker: Afghans wary of US pact concession .
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- An Afghan lawmaker says President Hamid Karzai's promise that American soldiers who stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 cannot be tried in local courts has caused uproar in Parliament.
According to emerging details of the U.S.-Afghan security pact, the United States will maintain exclusive legal jurisdiction over U.S. troops and contractors in Afghanistan after 2014.
Lawmaker Shah Gul Rezayee told The Associated Press that Afghan lawmakers were briefed by the country's security adviser about the concession, which was made public by Congressional aides in Washington.
The accord is to be debated at a gathering of 3,000 influential Afghan figures later this week, the so-called Loya Jirga, a traditional means of consultations. The final authority rests with Parliament.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-19-02-55-20
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