AGREEMENT ON DETAINEES
Aproblematic issue marring Us-afghanistan relations was that of the responsibility of detainees transfer which now seems resolved.
In an agreement reached between Kabul and the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) the Afghan government is to be handed over the handling of detainees, most of them Afghan citizens. President Hamid Karzai has since long been urging that responsibility to be handed over to the government. He had, in fact, issued a deadline of March 09 for the purpose of transfer of responsibility for the Us-run Parwan de- tention facility that houses approximately 3,000 detainees. Recently, there has been visible straining of ties between the two allies as violent protests broke out countrywide after the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by some American soldiers at Bagram. Efforts to get Kabul to assume greater responsibility of security by 2014 — the scheduled dateline for transfer of security to the national forces — are already underway, including the training and capability boosting of national forces. However, institutional and administrative problems have been impeding many of the scheduled plans which is expected, given the dynamics of Afghanistan’s administrative infrastructure and relatively nascent institution building. Even Parwan’s transfer may have been delayed by another six months because the ISAF felt that there was lack of preparedness on the part of the Afghan government to handle the entire facility. Circumstances, however, may have led to not delaying this any further especially when the Ulema Council de- manded of the Coalition an immediate handover of the detention facilities to the government. Kabul feels that mishandling, insensitivity and carelessness at the hands of the foreign forces have led to growing anger amid the people who are also lashing out at the government for allowing outsiders to meddle in the country’s internal administrative responsibilities. The Quran burning proved to be the catalyst. It is therefore positive that Kabul and Washington have agreed to resolve this very sensitive issue without further delay.