Kerry and Karzai reach partial Afghan security deal

Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai have said that major issues over a bilateral security agreement had been resolved but the question of immunity for U.S. troops — a potential deal-breaking issue — would have to be decided by an assembly of elders and leaders.

The agreement would help determine, among other things, how many U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan after 2014 when most foreign combat troops are due to leave. U.S. officials have previously said they want the pact finalized by the end of the month.

"We have reached an agreement on the respect of national sovereignty, preventing civilian casualties, a definition for aggression and also the prevention of unilateral acts by foreign forces," Karzai said.

"We reached an agreement on that, but the issue of jurisdiction for foreign forces is above the authority of the Afghan government and that is up to the Afghan people and the Loya Jirga (grand assembly)."

Currently, there are 52,000 American troops in Afghanistan and the U.S. wants to keep as many as 10,000 soldiers there. If no agreement is signed, all U.S. troops would have to leave.

Kerry began negotiations with Karzai on Saturday morning, the second day of talks after he arrived late on Friday. Kerry's unannounced overnight visit to Kabul came after talks were repeatedly stalled in recent weeks.

Karzai is demanding U.S. guarantees in defending Afghanistan against foreign intervention, an allusion to neighboring Pakistan. The U.S. wants any post-2014 forces to be able to conduct counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations.

Al Jazeera's Jane Ferguson, reporting from Baghlan, said Karzai had outlined Afghan demands, including a provision for the protection of civilians from U.S. forces and agreement that the U.S. must seek permission from Afghan authorities for future military operations.  

The talks, which began a year ago, have been deadlocked over sovereignty issues and the safety of Afghan citizens at the hands of American and allied troops.

But Karzai said he would punt the issue of who has who jurisdiction for any crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014 to a national consultative assembly of tribal elders, or Loya Jirga, which he has asked to be convened within a month. Their opinion on whether to approve or disapprove an American demand that its forces be remanded to U.S. military courts would then be sent to the Afghan parliament.

"If this thing can come together, this will put the Taliban on their heels," said Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi.

The agreement is necessary to give the U.S. a legal basis for keeping forces in Afghanistan after 2014 and also to allow it to lease bases in the country. It would be an executive agreement, meaning the Senate would not have to ratify it.

On Sunday, a man wearing an Afghan army uniform shot at U.S. soldiers in east Afghanistan, killing at least one serviceman, local and NATO officials said.

"A man wearing an Afghan army uniform shot at Americans in Sharana city (the provincial capital) near the governor's office," said an Afghan official, adding that two soldiers had been hit by the gunfire.

The so-called "insider attack" in eastern Paktika province is the fourth in less than a month and is likely to further strain already tense relations between coalition troops and their Afghan allies.

According to a Reuters tally, Sunday's incident was the tenth between Afghan and NATO forces this year, and took the death toll of foreign personnel to 15.   

A similar flurry of attacks last year prompted the NATO-led force to briefly suspend all joint activities and take steps to curb interaction between foreign and Afghan troops.

That has cut down the number of incidents, but some soldiers say the measures have further eroded the hard-won trust painstakingly nurtured between the allies over more than 12 years of war.

Al Jazeera and wire services