As the transition period is going on in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of international forces are going to be completed in 2014, there are concerns about the capability of Afghan authorities to shoulder the responsibilities of carrying on the security and governance of the country appropriately. This fact is now widely accepted that Afghanistan would require a lot of support even after 2014 from prominent powers in the world.

Strategic agreements with major powers in the world and the regional players will definitely support Afghanistan in this regard. Afghan authorities have already started efforts in this regard. Strategic partnership with India has already been decided and there have been discussions going on about strategic agreement with the most dominant player in Afghanistan – the US.

Moreover, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai is currently touring European countries for carrying out strategic agreements with important players in international economy and politics. He has reached to UK where he is expected to discuss the schedule for withdrawal of British forces and the nature of cooperation that UK would continue after the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.

Before reaching UK, President Karzai went to Italy and France, as well. He signed a strategic partnership agreement with Italian government so that Italy can support Afghanistan in certain ways after 2014. The Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, in a joint news conference with President Karzai said, "Inking the strategic cooperation agreement with Afghanistan is the core of our future cooperation with that country."

Karzai, commenting about the Afghan-Italian partnership agreement, mentioned in a meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano, "We are pleased to sign a long-term strategic partnership agreement and appreciate the aid and sacrifices of Italian soldiers for Afghanistan's stability."

After Italy, President Karzai reached to France where the meetings were dominated by the news of earlier withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan more than the discussions of the strategic agreement. France, mentioned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would withdraw about 1000 of its troops till the end of the ongoing year.

Previously, it was decided that France would withdraw about 600 of its troops till the end of 2012 and all the 3,600 troops by the end of 2014. Now, it has been decided that the withdrawal of French troops will be completed by 2013 – a year earlier.

Afghan President showed his concurrence for the French decision of early withdrawal. In a statement he mentioned, "France and other allied countries have helped Afghanistan considerably in the past 10 years. Afghanistan because of that help is now ready to take more and more responsibility."

However, the decision clearly shows that there has been a sense of tiredness among the international troops in the war against terrorism. They seem to be losing the vigor and commitment they used to have in the beginning of the war. Early withdrawal without the arrangements of peace and order in the country would definitely influence the war and the future of Afghanistan's socio-political scenario to a great extent.

Strategic agreements are expected with the UK as well. The Afghan President will meet the British Prime Minister David Cameron and will brief him about the reconciliation process with Taliban. Moreover, it is also expected that David Cameron will also sign an agreement to establish an officer training college in Afghanistan, which will be based on the British Army's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

However, it would be interesting to observe what would be the reaction of UK after the announcement of earlier withdrawal of French troops as there will be pressure on other European countries like Italy, Germany and UK. UK already provides twice of as many troops in Afghanistan as any other European nation.

It would be difficult to compensate for the French troops that would withdraw earlier. It would also be important to note how US is going to react upon the earlier withdrawal decision by France as it leads the international troops in Afghanistan.

Apart from the strategic agreements with the European countries, it is also interesting to note what sort of strategic agreement is decided with the US, which is the most dominant player in Afghanistan. US also seems committed to the withdrawal schedule promised by President Obama.

US has mentioned that though it would carry on the withdrawal as scheduled but would continue strategic cooperation with Afghanistan to guarantee lasting peace, better development and extinction of terrorism from the region. However, there are some important concerns about the strategic agreement with the US.

One of the most dominating points that have been bothering the authorities is the permanent US bases in Afghanistan. Some of the authorities in Afghanistan and mostly the authorities of the regional countries have serious concerns about US permanent bases.

The regional countries believe that US can use these permanent bases against them and can also pursue their political aims as long as they remain in their neighborhood. It is really difficult task for both US and Afghan authorities to make the regional countries believe that these bases will not be used against them in any case, if it is decided in the strategic agreement that US can have permanent bases in Afghanistan and there is possibility that US will consider this issue as the most important one before signing the agreement.

Another issue that is of great importance regarding the agreement is the night raids. The night raids have bothered the Afghan authorities because there have been claims that these raids have resulted in civilian casualties. The same has been propagated by media and even international humanitarian organizations.

However, at the same time it also remains a fact that terrorists have been using civilians as shields and try to escape. On most of the other cases, they even disguise themselves as simple citizens and play their part. Afghan history has been a witness to this fact so many times.

Definitely, these agreements are of great importance and they can serve as strong support for Afghanistan once it has to stand on its own. But at the same time, it must be maintained how to use the diplomatic ties wisely. As an intelligent country Afghanistan must always strive for peace and cooperation with other countries. However, it must not forget that the same sort of strategic agreements must be planned with regional powers as well. The region, especially the neighboring countries can play tremendous role in the building of Afghanistan and eradication of terrorism from the country.