TEHRAN - Former President Hamid Karzai criticized the US for lagging in cooperation with the war-hit country in campaign on terrorism, and said endorsement of security pact with Washington is useless while no peace exists.
"At a time when there is no peace, inking the security pact with the US doesn’t benefit Afghanistan," Karzai told FNA on Wednesday.
"We had demanded the US to start the process of peace in Afghanistan more serious and tangible and if the US acted upon its undertakings and the Afghanistan peace process, we would consider the security pact as fruitful," he added.
Noting that the US presence in Afghanistan was aimed at fighting against terrorism and extremism, he lamented that the situation in his country exacerbated every day and hopes for establishment of peace in Afghanistan faded out.
In September 2014, officials from Afghanistan and the United States signed a long-delayed security agreement to allow American troops to stay in the country after the end of the year, filling a campaign promise by President Ashraf Ghani.
Ghani's predecessor, Karzai, had long refused to agree to the deal, souring his ties with the United States. Karzai cited his anger over civilian deaths and his belief that the war was not fought in the interests of his country.  (FNA)