A documentary film about Sikhs from Kabul, Afghanistan will be aired on 3/6/12 on Sikh Channel.
“ਸਿੱਖ ਇਨ ਕਾਬੁਲ” ਡੋਕੁਮੰਟਰੀ ਫਿਲਮ ੩ ਜੂਨ ੨੦੧੨ ਨੂ ਸਿੱਖ ਚੈਨਲ ਤੇ ਦਿਖਾਈ ਜਾਵੇਗੀ |
“सिख इन काबुल” डोकुम्न्ट्री फिल्म ३ जून २०१२ को सिख चैनल पर दिखाई जाएगी |
Posted on behalf of
Pritpal Singh
Southall UK
Peshawar, May 20: Moving beyond the vague and clichéd 3-D strategy, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has come up with a plan which officials and cabinet ministers say could well serve as the first comprehensive state response to overcome militancy.
The 24-page presentation “Continuing Militancy, Challenge & Response”, unveiled at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti early this month envisages a full state response in terms of governance, deliverance and coordination to overcome the challenges from non-state actors.
“We have to acknowledge that there is a deep-set malaise that will not be cured by a single dose of anti-biotic. We need an aggressive; multiple doses of medication to attack the malaise from all sides,” Secretary Home, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azam Khan, told Dawn.
Mr Khan declined to go into the specifics of the plan he helped conceive but a cabinet minister said that was the most comprehensive strategy he had seen since the ANP-led coalition took office in 2008.
Acknowledging the ideological, material linkages between the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistani militants in bordering tribal regions, the report dispelled an impression that militancy in Pakistan would cease once foreign troops left Afghanistan. “It will not happen,” the report said.
Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain concurred. “The pot will continue to boil long after the fire is put out,” he remarked. “We are facing a well-trained, battle-hardened and indoctrinated and battle-inoculated nemesis,” he said in an interview.
“To defeat them, you need a full state response and not just the use of a mighty force. The militants have ambitions and they have objectives. Force alone is not the answer. All state institutions and departments will have to stand up to the occasion and response by contributing to the strategy,” Mr Hussain said.
The cabinet was warned that if and when foreign troops left Afghanistan, the sense of victory among the Taliban in Afghanistan would galvanise and embolden the militants on this side of the border to take on the Pakistani state.
A Taliban-dominated Afghanistan, the participants were told, would serve as the strategic depth for the Pakistani militants, with their Afghan allies morally-bound to support them in their bid to impose their brand of shariah in Pakistan.
“The successful tactics that helped Afghan Taliban to fight the Afghan state would be replicated by Pakistani militants against Pakistan,” they were told.
Highlighting Taliban tactics, the paper likened them to termite that eats the structure from within.
“In the power consolidation phase, they let the super structure remain while going the termite way,” the cabinet was told.
This, they were told, was done by creating social space by guaranteeing security through conflict resolution and quick dispensation of justice and execution; targeting political and tribal elders, targeting public opinion makers, creating terror and targeting law-enforces.
Just in the first three months this year, the cabinet was informed, 139 law-enforces were targeted. Compared with that, militants’ known and registered casualties (dead and wounded) stood at 45 from January to April, 25.Likewise, from February 2010 to August 2011, militants beheaded a total of 47 opponents in North Waziristan alone, the cabinet heard in total shock.
The militants, they were told, had a propaganda wing, a religious wing, a political cell and training and espionage networks.
“In short, all wings of militants structure work towards a common goal to ultimately capture power in a well-coordinated, well-organised, cool and calculated manner,” the cabinet was told.
“As for our response; it’s business as usual, where the right hand knows not what the left hand is doing,” a participant quoted from the presentation.
Intelligence penetration, it said, lacked depth, despite Pakistan being in a state of war for over 10 years, while law-enforcement agencies lacked training, the weaponry and orientation to fight an unconventional war.
Moving beyond the 3-D (Development, Deterrence and Dialogue), a cliché term that lacked clarity, coined by former president General Musharraf, the KP cabinet was told that it would take more than just law-enforcement to root out militancy.
All state institutions and government departments would have to respond in a concerted and coordinated manner, it said.
Emphasising that Pakistan needed to learn from other nations on how to deal with militancy; it would also have to make an effort to squeeze finances to militant organisations and mobilise all government departments to gear up their effort in drawing up plans to defeat militants.
The presentation then set out to identify a set of measures that could be taken by the departments of social welfare, Auqaf & religious affairs, information, education, home & tribal affairs, law and justice, revenue, police and the Frontier Constabulary, intelligence and the prosecution to respond in a holistic manner to the challenge.
“To win the war, the government has to show a better face to the people,” the cabinet was told.
Summing up, the cabinet was told that the catch in the whole plan was its implementation. “This is just a pointer,” the cabinet was told.
“Improve it, approve it, assign specific tasks, set time lines, gauge performances against clear benchmarks and go for performance accountability as failure is not an option,” it concluded.
The cabinet approved the recommendations made in the presentation and issued directives to all departments concerned to follow through and implement the plan.
“Minutes of the cabinet meeting have been issued,” a senior government official said. “The ball has started rolling, let’s see where it stops,” a PPP minister in the KP cabinet remarked. “It is a good plan but consistency, perseverance, implementation and accountability are not something we are known for,” the minister said.
http://dawn.com/2012/05/21/new-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-strategy-to-eradicate-militancy/
Zardari arrives in US for Nato summit
Washington, 19 May 2012. President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Washington on Saturday to attend the Nato summit in Chicago, DawnNews reported.
The president will address the two-day summit which will gather Nato’s 28 member states as well as leaders from more than 30 nations and international organisations.
Pakistan was extended the invitation to the summit on Tuesday after Islamabad signaled it was about to end a nearly six-month blockade on supply routes to Afghanistan.
However, Pakistani officials claim the invitation for the summit was made without conditions.
On the other hand, Pakistan Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman said that Pakistan had not given up its demand for an apology over the Salala incident. However, the US government had been reluctant to apologise and has stated the apology over the incident should be issued by Nato.
Rehman further said that a final decision on restoration of Nato supplies was yet to be taken as negotiations between both countries were still underway.
http://dawn.com/2012/05/19/zardari-arrives-in-us-for-nato-summit
Afghan leader in Chicago for key Nato summit
Chicago, 19 May 2012. Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Chicago on Friday ahead of talks with US President Barack Obama and other Nato leaders at a key summit for Afghanistan’s future, an alliance official said.
Obama will hold one-on-one talks with Karzai on Sunday on the sidelines of the summit, at which Nato allies will chart the final two years of the war before 130,000 foreign combat troops are withdrawn in late 2014.
The summit will also seek consensus on the structure and financing of the estimated $4.1 billion annual cost of Afghan forces after 2014.
Obama last met Karzai during a surprise trip to Kabul earlier this month when the two leaders inked a deal cementing 10 years of US aid for Afghanistan after Nato combat troops leave in 2014.
The two-day summit, which will continue on Monday, will gather Nato’s 28 member states as well as leaders from more than 30 nations and international organisations, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
http://dawn.com/2012/05/19/afghan-leader-in-chicago-for-key-nato-summit/
Washington, 17 May 2012. The United States and Pakistan on Wednesday raced to conclude a deal to reopen key supply routes for the Afghanistan war before next week’s Nato summit, with Washington hopeful of an imminent deal but Islamabad insisting that the US pay more to repair relations and end the blockade.
Both sides said negotiations continued in Islamabad, a day after Nato invited Pakistan’s president to the Chicago summit in the strongest sign yet that the wary US ally was ready to reopen its western border to American and allied military supplies heading to neighboring Afghanistan.
Pakistan closed the routes after American airstrikes in November that killed 24 Pakistani troops on the Afghan border. Since then, supplies have taken a far more expensive route through eastern Europe and Asia.
”We have had some progress,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
”While the Pakistani political leadership hasn’t yet authorised the reopening of the ground transportation routes, we understand that they did endorse the conclusion of the negotiations.”
Nuland declined to describe what details remained to be worked out, but American officials had previously spoken of lingering differences over security arrangements, customs fees and other taxes that would be paid to Islamabad for hosting the routes and guaranteeing safe passage.
But those issues appeared to have been largely ironed out by Wednesday, according to an American official, who said a final deal hinged only on the two sides formalizing a written memorandum of understanding.
The agreement should be concluded by Friday, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations.
Nuland told reporters, ”If we can get it done by Chicago, that will send a powerful signal of support from Pakistan to Afghanistan” and the international mission there. The Nato summit begins Sunday in Chicago.
But a Pakistani official offered a different assessment, saying the two sides remained at loggerheads over money. The gap in their estimations of how much money Islamabad should be paid remained ”huge” Wednesday, according to the official, who also asked for anonymity because the talks were continuing late Wednesday.
The official couldn’t cite any figures. ”It is a problem,” the official conceded, ”but we are trying to resolve it.” The official added that questions linked to security or customs procedures were secondary and were easily solvable after a financial agreement but said it was unclear when the memorandum could be finalised.
Haggling by Pakistan could reflect a last-ditch effort to get a higher price, or the widespread distrust of the United States back home and the difficult internal politics involved in securing a national consensus to reopen the routes.
Washington and Islamabad have suffered a debilitating year for their already strained relations. November’s airstrikes were preceded by a CIA contractor’s killing of two Pakistanis and the unilateral US raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani compound.
And tensions are compounded by the US suspicion that Pakistan supports the Taliban, making the Afghanistan war unwinnable.
Still, a picture of rapprochement seemed clearer Tuesday, when Nato invited President Asif Ali Zardari to its upcoming gathering and Pakistani diplomats said he was likely to attend. The summit will focus on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan is seen as a key player in any political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The US has expressed regret for the airstrikes and quietly pressed Pakistan to reopen the routes over the last two weeks.
Washington and Nato stepped up the efforts in recent days, and a series of Pakistani statements suggested the supply line blockade would soon be lifted.
By keeping the routes closed, Pakistan’s teetering economy risks missing out on millions of dollars in international development and loans, as well military aid. It could also be excluded from discussions on Afghanistan’s future.
The blockade forced Nato to reorient its logistics chain to more expensive routes across Russia and Central Asia.
The Pakistani routes will be more important in coming months as Nato begins to pull out of Afghanistan, with a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops.
http://dawn.com/2012/05/17/us-sees-deal-near-pakistan-haggling-over-money/
Anita Joshua
Islamabad, 14 May 2012. As negotiations with the U.S. over reopening NATO supply lines through Pakistan entered an ‘either-or’ phase with the West obliquely linking it to an invitation for next week’s Chicago conference on Afghanistan, Islamabad on Monday hinted at a readiness to “move on” and “continue to be a facilitator” in the global war on terror.
Refusing to give a direct answer on whether the NATO supply lines would be reopened, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told the media that Pakistan wants to continue to be facilitator and an enabler; not a blocker. Maintaining that the objectives of Pakistan and NATO are identical, she sought to underline the fact that cooperating with the predominantly Western alliance involved more than just the U.S. but also some of its closest friends like Turkey.
Though she came for the press conference directly from a high-level meeting at the Presidency where the civil and military leadership put their heads together to evolve a response to the toughening postures of both the U.S. and NATO vis-à-vis the supply lines and financial assistance to Pakistan, Ms. Khar refused to divulge details on what transpired. However, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said there would be clarity on the issue within a couple of days.
Even with the U.S., Ms. Khar’s submission was that things were not as bleak as is being portrayed. “Both sides believe that we are currently in a positive atmosphere of dialogue trying to resolve rather than build on the issues.” Further, according to her, the world must realise that for 10 of the 12 years that Pakistan has been facilitating the war on terror, NATO supplies were allowed to move through the country into Afghanistan gratis. Only over the last two years, a nominal amount was being charged.
Given the criticism within the country regarding aligning with the U.S. in the war on terror, the Minister clearly made an attempt to change the narrative in the country by stating that “if you want to bracket Pakistan as a facilitator of the international community, then that is the right spot where Pakistan belongs in”.
Partnership approach
Referring to Parliament’s recommendations for engaging with the US, Ms. Khar said: “It is a big yes to the partnership approach”. Also, now that Parliament has spoken in favour of engagement, it has shown that those who were against aligning with the war on terror were just fringe elements as majority of the people wanted to fight terrorism.
Both Ministers were dismissive of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council — which has been spearheading protests against NATO supply lines — and Mr. Kaira went to the extent of suggesting that even protests against drone attacks were more in Punjab than in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas which bear the brunt of the Predator visits.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3418975.ece
Wednesday 9 May 2012. An increase in sectarian violence has killed hundreds of Pakistanis in recent years.
Many attacks have been concentrated in the Northern Areas and Balochistan province.
Shias and other minority communities say those behind the violence – such as the banned Sunni militant organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi – are rarely caught or punished.
BBC Urdu’s Nosheen Abbas talked to Shias who have been caught up in the violence and have decided to move to the safety of Islamabad.
Niaz Ali, 30, development worker who travels between Islamabad and Skardu, in Pakistan’s northern areas
I was on a bus when we were stopped in the town of Chilas, and the Shias were singled out and then killed.
I had been on my way from Islamabad to Skardu. I don’t know how I survived, given that I’m Shia, but for some reason they were discussing among themselves how they would kill Shias from Gilgit, and not Skardu.
One man tried to run away, but he was shot. Another old man died on the spot after they threw large stones at his face. You wouldn’t even beat animals in the same way that these people were beaten. All this happened right in front of all the policemen who were there!
It’s not safe to travel by road any more. They send two policemen on every bus now, but I don’t think that makes any difference.
You never know whether you’ll be alive or dead after travelling on that road to Skardu, but it’s the only one. Most of the people who travel are students, because there aren’t any good academic institutions in Skardu. My family has forbidden me to travel by road now, so I fly now, but not everyone can afford to do that.
The government of Pakistan does nothing for the people here. They never stop the people who are killing us, so they are either supporting them or don’t care.
Farishat Haideri, 20, an ethnic Hazara student from Quetta, capital of Balochistan province
Life used to be different in Quetta. The situation now is bad. There is a lot of fear.
We can’t even go to the bazaar and the shops near our homes because we are being targeted. We have been warned that all Hazara men will be killed. Even women are now being killed.
We’d love to live in a safe place. We are peace-loving people and we want to be treated like normal human beings. If the current situation continues it will become impossible to live in Quetta. People are now moving to Afghanistan and other foreign countries.
A friend of mine was targeted when they went to the bazaar. Recently, two taxis full of people going to the funeral of a victim of a targeted killing were stopped, and all eight people inside were killed, including one woman.
We never know who these killers are. They’re never caught. Until now, no woman has been kidnapped, but that’s because no-one dares to move from their own designated areas in the city.
My parents insisted I do my studies here in Islamabad. They want me to find another scholarship so I can move abroad. My parents themselves might move to Afghanistan.
More stories on the BBC website, follow link below
Kabul, 7 May 2012. Leading Afghan women’s rights champion, author, lawmaker and presidential hopeful Fawzia Koofi has a revealing anecdote about life as a woman in a man’s land.
As she walked out of the Presidential Palace in Kabul recently, a conservative male parliamentary colleague approached her and said: “‘Ms Koofi, if you would really like to live in a palace – because you are running for the presidency – why don’t you get married to a president’?”
Even now, weeks later, Koofi’s steady brown eyes flash at the memory.
“It really made me feel angry, because that’s how they see it,” Koofi said.
“If a woman would like to become a president it’s not because she’s qualified for it, it’s because she would like to live in a palace!” In a riposte, she told her colleague pointedly that, unlike some men with dubious pasts in Afghanistan’s 30 years of conflict, she had no need to hide in the security of a palace.
“I’m happy sometimes when they oppose me because it means I’m something to them, they feel I am strong – and I also give them the required punch, I think.”
Named this year as one of the world’s ‘150 Fearless Women’ by US website The Daily Beast, Koofi, 36, is a widow with two young girls who are addressed in her memoir ‘Letters to my Daughters’.
It is a tale of courage and passion in the face of the overwhelming challenges faced by a girl growing up in a country sometimes called the worst place in the world to be a woman.
She was left in the sun to die immediately after her birth by her exhausted and depressed mother – one of seven wives in a family of 23 children – who knew that another girl would not win her husband’s approval, she writes.
The baby Koofi lay alone, screaming and sunburned, for almost a day until pity prevailed and she was returned to her repentant mother – to start a close and loving relationship. The sunburn scars lasted into her teens, but they – and any psychological scars – are undetectable in this elegant and confident woman in a pale pink headscarf and cream tunic over matching trousers.
Pictures of two men find space on the walls of Koofi’s rented home near parliament: one a portrait of a stern-faced father, the other shows her and President Hamid Karzai.
Her father – a politician murdered when Koofi was just three – spoke directly to her only once, and that was to tell her to go away, she writes in her memoir.
And she is not a fan of Karzai. She accuses the president – who is backed by 130,000 NATO troops – of being prepared to compromise on women’s rights for political gain among conservatives, including Taliban insurgents.
The Taliban, ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, banned girls from going to school, whipped women in the street if they wore anything other than the all-enveloping burqa and stoned to death those accused of adultery.
Even now there are more guns than women on the streets of Kabul.
But Koofi – who managed to get a good education against the odds – says the past 10 years have provided ‘golden opportunities’ for women.
Her biggest fear is that these gains will be the first to be sacrificed in efforts to bring the Taliban into reconciliation talks, and perhaps even a sharing of power after NATO troops pull out in 2014.
“Compromise is happening already. Talibanisation is a process, people within government are already promoting Taliban ideology and Taliban thinking,” she said. “There is great uncertainty and confusion about the future, and worry and concern among women.”
In March, Karzai indicated support for an edict by the Ulema Council, the nation’s highest Islamic authority, saying “men are fundamental and women are secondary”. Karzai “openly supported this, he said this is what the people of Afghanistan want”, said Koofi, who chairs parliament’s women and human rights committee.
“I don’t think this is what they want. It is true we are all Muslims, but our understanding of Islam is different from the understanding of the Taliban.
“Lots of things have changed for the good for women. There has been lots of progress for women in the political arena, girls in school and higher education, laws providing protection for women. “Having said that, Afghanistan is still the worst place in the world to be a mother, and there are still a lot of women suffering from domestic violence and torture even.” Koofi urges the West to continue its support for Afghan women’s rights even after the withdrawal – and is committed to doing all she can herself, even if it means risking her life.
“Being a woman in politics in Afghanistan and a woman who stands for what she believes in, there is always risk, it is always dangerous,” she said.
“I have already been so many times a target for assassination and even kidnapping. But I think somebody has to take the risk.” Koofi said she is determined to run for president in the 2014 elections, when Karzai is due to complete his limit of two five-year terms, if there is a chance that they will be free and fair.
She dismisses forecasts that she would be trounced in such a male-dominated country, saying there is a strong desire for change among young people, women, the educated elite – and even in rural villages.
She was elected as a member of parliament for remote and rural Badakhshan, her home province, “where people 10 years back would have been strongly against women – now they voted for me”. (AFP)
http://www.asianage.com/international/afghan-woman-sets-sights-presidency-man-s-land-768
Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service
New Delhi , May 1. Afghanistan today sought India’s assistance in not only training its security forces but also equipping them under the strategic partnership agreement so that they were in a position to defend the trouble-torn nation after international forces withdraw from there by the end of 2014.
This was conveyed by Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna at the inaugural session of the India-Afghanistan Partnership Council, which formally set in motion the implementation of the strategic partnership pact signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in October last year.
Expanding security and counter-terror cooperation figured prominently in the talks. Issues relating to the safety of nearly 4,000 Indians living in that country and the security of Indian missions and facilities also figured prominently.
Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Krishna responded favourably to his Afghan counterpart’s suggestion, saying New Delhi had always been unwavering its commitment to assist the people of Afghanistan in their endeavour to build a peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous country.
“Let me assure you that while it is a time of change and transformation in the region, India ’s commitment to Afghanistan is neither transitory nor in transition…India’s security is intertwined with that of Afghanistan’s stability,” he told Rassoul.
The visiting minister also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who hoped the strategic partnership between the two countries would be further strengthened in the critical period ahead.
Krishna said India was hopeful that by the time the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and American forces pull out of Afghanistan , the Afghan security forces would be in a position to protect the sovereignty of their nation.
On the process of reconciliation with the Taliban, the Afghan minister said the Afghan government was not looking at the military aspect of dealing with the situation in the country alone but also at the political side in keeping with the decision taken by the Loya Jirga-the governing council of tribal leaders. Talks would be held only with those among the Taliban who respect the Afghan Constitution and recognise the gains made by the country in different areas during the last 10 years of conflict.
On his part, Krishna reminded his Afghan opposite number of the need to adhere to the red lines drawn by the international community for negotiations with the Taliban. The process of reconciliation must be Afghan-led, inclusive and transparent.
Talks should be held only with those who snap links with the militia and promise to abide by the constitution. Afghanistan must be prevented from sliding back to safe haven for terrorists and extremist groups, he added.
On the fears expressed by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne that the Taliban or other such groups might shift close to the Indian border with Pakistan at Wagah if the situation deteriorated after the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, Krishna said India was always monitoring developments at its borders.
“We keep a close watch on the situation and take steps to check infiltration by the Taliban or others.’’
Wednesday 2 May 2012. US President Barack Obama has pledged to “finish the job” and end the Afghan war, addressing the US public live from a military base in Afghanistan.
Speaking a year after Osama Bin Laden’s death, he thanked US troops and hailed plans to end combat operations.
Mr Obama arrived in Afghanistan on a surprise visit to sign an agreement on future Afghan-US ties with President Hamid Karzai, ahead of a Nato summit.
Hours after his speech at least six people died in a bomb blast in Kabul.
Afghan officials said at least two suicide bombers targeted a guesthouse popular with foreigners in the eastern part of the Afghan capital.
They said that most of the victims were civilians.
Two security officials later told the BBC that two to three attackers were still holed up in a building near the scene of the original attack. They have been firing from machine guns and firing RPGs.
Police have now surrounded the area.
The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attacks.
‘National security’
Earlier, Mr Obama said signing the pact with President Karzai was “a historic moment” for both nations.
Hit visit and TV address come as correspondents say public patience with the war in Afghanistan is wearing thin.
In the speech, beamed back to prime-time evening audiences in US, the president said that at the upcoming Nato summit, to be held in Chicago, the alliance would “set a goal for Afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations across the country next year”.
Nato has already committed to withdrawing from combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
“I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security,” Mr Obama said. “But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.”
Correspondents say Mr Obama’s words appear to be aimed at showing American voters he is pursuing a strategy to wind down the war, while reassuring Afghans in the face of a continuing Taliban insurgency.
‘Path to peace’
About 23,000 of the 88,000 US troops currently in the country are expected to leave Afghanistan by the summer, with all US and Nato troops out by the end of 2014.
“It is time to renew America,” Mr Obama said towards the end of his remarks.
“My fellow Americans, we have travelled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon,” Mr Obama said.
“The Iraq war is over. The number of our troops in harm’s way has been cut in half, and more will be coming home soon. We have a clear path to fulfil our mission in Afghanistan, while delivering justice to al-Qaeda.”
During the speech, Mr Obama outlined the agreement he had just signed with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The BBC’s Paul Adams says 20 months of negotiation finally produced an agreement after differences over night raids by special forces and the handling of prisoners were ironed out.
According to the US president, the document outlines plans for training Afghan forces and supporting counter terrorism efforts, as well as “Afghan commitments to transparency and accountability”.
Mr Obama also spoke of a “negotiated peace” with the Taliban, saying that if insurgents break with al-Qaeda, and follow the “path to peace”, there can be reconciliation.
He said that ahead of the Chicago meeting of Nato, he had made it clear to Pakistan that it could be an “equal partner in the process”.
Pakistan and US relations soured after Mr Obama launched the raid that killed bin Laden inside the country’s border.
“In pursuit of a durable peace, America has no designs beyond an end to al-Qaeda safe-havens, and respect for Afghan sovereignty.”
Mr Obama also rejected calls to leave Afghanistan before the 2014 Nato timeline, saying “we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly”.
In the wake of the agreement, the US is to designate Afghanistan as a major non-Nato ally, US officials are quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Monday 16 April 2012. Fighting in the Afghan capital has finally ended, 18 hours after the Taliban launched their assault, officials have said.
A spokesman for Kabul’s police chief said the last gunman, who was fighting near the parliament in the west of the city, was killed early on Monday.
Earlier, security forces flushed out insurgents in the central diplomatic area, home to several embassies.
Officials said at least 17 gunmen and one police officer have died.
More than 30 people were injured, many of them civilians.
Attackers also carried out raids in the provinces of Logar, Paktia and Nangarhar.
Hostage reports
In Kabul, foreign embassies, Nato’s HQ and the Afghan parliament were hit in the first major attack on the city in more than six months.
“The latest information we have about the Afghan parliament area is that the attack is over now and the only insurgent who was resisting has been killed,” said the Kabul police chief’s spokesman Hashmatullah Stanikzai.
In the central district of Wazir Akbar Khan, offcials said Afghan and Norwegian special forces raided a construction site which the attackers had been using as a base.
Video footage showed soldiers scaling the scaffolding after dawn on Monday, as bullets blasted off walls around them.
The BBC’s Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says there are reports that the gunmen took several construction workers hostage.
“I could not sleep because of all this gunfire now. It’s been the whole night,” local resident Hamdullah told Reuters.
Afghan officials said they have also arrested two would-be suicide bombers, who intended to kill the second vice-president, Mohamed Karim Khalili.
The Taliban said the co-ordinated attacks were a response to recent claims by Nato officials that the insurgency was weak.
“These attacks are the beginning of the spring offensive and we had planned them for months,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters.
Correspondents say the attacks have shattered the confidence of Afghans, as the insurgents have once more shown that they can strike right in the heart of Kabul.
The assault has also raised concern about security as Nato prepares to withdraw its troops by the end of 2014 and hand over reponsibility to Afghan forces.
Elsewhere in the country, gunmen attacked government buildings in Logar province, the airport in Jalalabad, and a police facility in the town of Gardez in Paktia province.
