PressTV Afghanistan says President Hamid Karzai will not allow any of his ministers to sign a controversial security deal with the United States.
The Afghan president's spokesman said on Wednesday that Karzai would not allow any minister to sign the security pact unless Kabul's key demands are met.
"As long as these demands are not accepted, President Karzai will not authorize any minister to sign it," Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi said.
Washington had earlier said that the deal could be signed by Afghanistan’s defence minister. US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said the bilateral pact could be signed by Afghan defense minister, effectively circumventing Karzai.
"His minister of defense can sign it, the government can sign it, somebody can accept responsibility for this," Kerry told a gathering of NATO ministers in Brussels.
More frustration is growing in the US and NATO countries over the Afghan leader's refusal to sign a bilateral security deal on the future of US military presence in the war-torn country.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged Kabul government to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the US as a matter of urgency.
Washington is also warning that the global support for Afghanistan will fade, if President Karzai continues to delay signing the security pact.
Washington has rejected President Karzai's suggestion of the signing to take place next year. The US has repeatedly said it will not wait until after the April 2014 presidential vote to seal the agreement.
Karzai has accused the US of not providing the country with military supplies in an attempt to pressure him to sign the controversial deal.
The deal allows the US to keep thousands of its troops in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal date for foreign troops.
Afghan activists say the security treaty between Washington and Kabul will pave the way for a prolonged US military presence in the war-ravaged country.
Afghan political figures have also heaped scorn on US-led forces for committing unforgivable crimes against Afghan women and children since invading the country in 2001.
JR/SS