Amidst unwelcoming gesture of Afghan officials against United States, Washington agreed to donate $249 million to the country, a sign of its commitment toward reconstruction of the country. Officials from both countries formalized the agreement last Thursday. U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Stephen G. McFarland and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawid Ludin signed the agreements, the U.S. State Department announced.

Among other projects, the funds will aim to promote “better governance in improving the administration of justice and enhanced rule of law, continuing the development of a safe, secure and humane corrections system; and increasing security through curtailment of the narcotics trade,” the department said in a release. One of the key focuses of the fund is to slash opium cultivation in which country is rated top in the world. It is widely believed that opium and its other drug products play essential role in pouring cash to pockets of Taliban insurgents.

The fund comes after harsh criticism of President Karzai from the US over several issues. President is not fully satisfied with US over handover of Bagram Prison which the Washington, after huge arguments and controversy, finally agreed to give up running anymore.

But the efforts of High Peace Council and the government to accelerate the release of Taliban prisoners which are deemed highly dangerous for Afghan and foreign security forces, seemingly, has made Washington to take high precaution. Kabul frequently claimed that many Bagram Prisoners are kept there without any fair trial or indeed committed no crime. Washington fears that by handing the prison over, perhaps many high profile and dangerous Taliban prisoners might get away which according to their calculation is a blunt mistake.

Certainly, the initiative is held for security reasons while President feels angry on account that Washington does not take him seriously. Same is the case with withdrawal of Special Forces from Maidan Wardak Province. He ordered them to pull out within week which could have proved consequential as the province is one of the most restive regions and militants can easily threaten the stronghold of the government in Kabul.

So, the above two issues along with other visible differences show the gap between the Afghan and US governments regarding the issues in Afghanistan. This gap needs to be bridged abruptly and the authorities from both sides need to play a role in this regard. They need to work on confidence building measures and must make sure that the insurgents do not take advantage of their skirmishes.