Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi, former Minister of Trade and a registered candidate for the spring Presidential elections, has criticized President Hamid Karzai's decision to hold a Loya Jirga, calling it illegal and unnecessary.
"President Karzai must decide on the BSA himself," said Ahadi, a former Minister in Karzai's cabinet. "Holding a Loya Jirga to do it is against the law."
The Afghan President announced last week that a Loya Jirga would convene within a month in order to approve or disapprove the terms of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) negotiated between Washington and Kabul. The agreement is expected to outline the U.S.' role in Afghan national security after the NATO combat mission ends in December of 2014.
"The Jirga will assess all aspects of the agreement and the representatives of the citizens will make a final decision on the BSA. The citizens are authorized to make a final decision, and the government will only obey their decision," President Karzai said at a press conference last Monday.
With the security transition occurring simultaneous to a formative moment in Afghan politics – the 2014 Presidential and Provincial Council elections – the commentary on Karzai's decisions from Afghan leaders, and election candidates, has never been as loud or more abundant.
Karzai's choice to defer to the Jirga for a final decision on the BSA, the terms of which are said to be largely settled after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unexpected trip to Kabul this past weekend, has been met with mixed response. Many Afghan Parliamentarians have spoken out in solidarity, voicing their support for Karzai's decision to leave the fate of the security pact up to one of the more traditional methods of democracy in Afghanistan.
"There are some elements that are trying to prevent the Loya Jirga from happening, but this Jirga must be held so that we can weigh the pros and cons of the Bilateral Security Agreement," said Senator Hadayatullah Rahayi last week.
However, others politicians, like Ahadi, are outright against the decision to defer to a Jirga what many consider to be an agreement that will determine whether Afghanistan sinks or swims in the coming years.
Other registered Presidential candidates have urged for the BSA to be signed as soon as possible, joining a chorus of experts, Afghan and U.S. officials who think it would devastating for Afghanistan's future to not have an agreement in place. But none have, like Ahadi has, weighed in on the merits of relying on a Jirga to make the final call.
Ahadi also cautioned against interference in the elections, emphasizing the importance of transparency and the neutrality of the government. He criticized the creation of a different Jirga, announced on Saturday, that seeks to reduce the number of Presidential candidates running in the election, which currently stands at 26.
"If candidates negotiate among themselves, it's fine, but there was no need for the creation of a committee," said Ahadi. He went on to assert that he had no intentions of withdrawing from the race.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) is expected to announce the preliminary list of eligible candidates on October 19, and the finalized list on November 16.
There is no known signing date yet for the BSA, though between comments made by Secretary Kerry and President Karzai on Saturday, and the timeframe set for the Loya Jirga, it would seem likely that an agreement will be in place, or not, within a month.