A number of House of Representative members criticized the delay in the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and warned that if the pact is not finalized before the April elections, it could have an unintended impact on them.
MPs accused President Hamid Karzai of letting personal issues with U.S. President Barack Obama get in the way of the security deal, which would ensure a continued military partnership between the U.S., its allies and Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends in December.
"Personal issues between the two Presidents of Afghanistan and the United States has led to national interests being questioned," Badakhshan MP Nilofar Ibrahimi said. "All the bargaining and Bagram prison issues and media war has been between two individuals."
Tensions between Washington and Kabul have been rising since Karzai refused to go along with a Loya Jirga recommendation in November to finalize the BSA and instead laid out new preconditions for the U.S. to meet before he signs. U.S. officials have put public and private pressure on Karzai to seal the deal, but the Afghan President has remained firm in his demands, even in the face of growing discontent amongst Afghans.
Now, with less than three months before the Presidential and Provincial Council elections, many fear the BSA negotiations could bleed into the election season and cause problems.
"The President and government must be pressured so that the agreement is signed sooner," an MP from Uruzgan named Raihana Azad said.
"If this agreement is not signed before the elections, and is not signed during President Karzai's term, discussion will take place between America and the Presidential candidates," MP Naqeebullah Faiq warned.
A number of MPs called on the Chairman of the House to put the BSA up for vote and process it through Parliament instead of waiting on Karzai.
"Today, our concern is for the national interests of Afghanistan," Kabul MP Farkhunda Zahra Nader said. "Even foreign countries come to Afghanistan and advise us that this agreement is in favor of Afghanistan...Don't you care more about your stance on national interests than Pakistan's?"
In response to the request of House of Representative member, Chairman of the House Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said, "I can't decide here and you shouldn't order an Administrative Board to decide."
"Considering the position that Parliament has, we talk with great loyalty and caution, so that media doesn't find something against the law," he added.
If the BSA is not signed, U.S. officials have indicated that it is likely all foreign troops would be evacuated by the end of 2014. All military financial aid to the Afghan forces would also be cut off.