Context
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, reiterating his call for militants to lay down their weapons, urged the country’s armed forces to meet security challenges faced by Afghanistan. Addressing a meeting of military officials at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, he said if militants continued fighting beyond the transition phase, it would imply they worked for long-term presence of foreign forces in the country. Speaking of the Afghanistan-US strategic partnership contract, the president said that the talks on the agreement were underway. Karzai made it clear that his administration wouldn’t sign any agreement if Washington fails to meet its conditions.
